Court Sentences Two To Death In 2005 Shramjeevi Express Blast Case

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) A local court handed down the death penalty to a Bangladeshi national, Hilaluddin, and another man, Nafikul Biswas, from West Bengal, for their roles in the 2005 Shramjeevi Express blast case. The incident, which occurred near Harpalganj Hariharpur in the Singramau region of Uttar Pradesh, claimed 14 lives and left 62 people injured.
Additional Sessions Judge Rajesh Kumar Rai declared Hilaluddin and Nafikul Biswas guilty on December 22, and the court imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh each on the convicts. The quantum of punishment was officially announced on Wednesday.

The 2005 terror attack involved the planting of a bomb on the Shramjeevi Express on July 28, resulting in significant casualties. Ronnie alias Alamgir and Obaidur Rahman, Bangladeshi terrorists responsible for planting the bomb, were sentenced to death by Additional Sessions Judge Buddhiram Yadav in 2016. Both have appealed the verdict, and the case is currently under consideration in the High Court.

Prosecution lawyer Virendra Kumar Maurya revealed that a total of 117 witnesses were deposed in the case. Seven individuals were initially accused, with Obaid-ur-Rehman and Roni receiving death sentences in 2016. One of the accused passed away during the trial, while two others remain untraceable.

Witness testimonies indicated that two youths carrying a white suitcase boarded the train at Jaunpur railway station. Later, they alighted without the suitcase, which was later discovered to contain RDX, causing the explosion in the train's toilet.

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