GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court on Tuesday, September 27, upheld the life sentence of now-disbanded National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-R) Chief, Ranjan Daimary in relation to the 2008 serial bomb blasts case.
As many as eighteen bombs went off on October 30, 2008, in Assam’s Guwahati, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Barpeta causing at least 88 deaths and injuring 540 people.
Earlier in 2019, a special CBI court in Guwahati sentenced Ranjan Daimary to life imprisonment. The CBI court convicted 14 accused including Daimary in the case on January 28, 2019, under various sections of the IPC.
Though in 2020, Daimary was released from Guwahati Central Jail to take part in the peace talks with the Centre. Daimary was granted interim bail by Gauhati High Court for four weeks as the Assam government did not oppose his bail plea in the court.
Then earlier this year, the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) demanded the early release of former NDFB chairman Ranjan Daimary; following which an appeal was made to the High Court since the earlier verdicts had come from a lower court.
But, the high court today upheld his life imprisonment sentence stating that Daimary was the prime accused in the serial blasts case.
Meanwhile, the court also upheld the prior verdicts for nine other accused in the case. However, it acquitted four other accused of any wrongdoings.
“The judgement passed by the trial court was upheld by the high court. Though, four of the fourteen initially accused named: Ansai Bodo, Lokora Bodo, Indra Brahma and Jayanti Brahma were excused, and their conviction was overturned by the high court. Ranjan Daimary along with six others are currently in jail,” informed the Defence Lawyer, Manas Sarania to reporters.