NIA court sentences five to jail terms in Khagragarh blast

A special NIA court on Friday sentenced five accused in the Khagragarh blast case to varying terms from five years to six years in jail after convicting them for conspiracy and waging war against the country and under various provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

The five had pleaded guilty for the blast, in which two suspected terrorists were killed and a third was injured while they were making bombs and explosive devices in a rented house at Khagragarh in Burdwan district of West Bengal.

Links with terror group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were found in the blast that took place on October 2, 2014.

Siddhartha Kanjilal, the chief judge at City Sessions Court who was presiding over the special NIA court, sentenced Enamul Haq and Habibur Rahaman to five years' rigorous imprisonment.

The court sentenced Habibur Sheikh, Faizul Rahaman and Burhan Sheikh to six years' rigorous imprisonment, NIA lawyer Shyamal Ghosh said.

Judge Kanjilal also slapped a fine of Rs 20,000