Guwahati, Jan 30: The chief of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Ranjan Daimary, and nine others were sentenced to life imprisonment by a CBI special court on Wednesday in the 2008 Assam serial blast case that had claimed 88 lives.

Amid tight security in court premises, CBI Special Judge Aparesh Chakraborty pronounced the quantum of punishment for Daimary, George Bodo, B Tharai, Raju Sarkar, Anchai Bodo, Indra Brahma, Loko Basumatary, Khargeswar Basumatary, Ajay Basumatary and Rajen Goyary.

Three other convicts - Prabhat Bodo, Jayanti Basumatary and Mathura Brahma - will be released after they pay a fine imposed by the court.

The CBI court has ordered the release of Nilim Daimary and Mridul Goyary as they have already served their sentence.

Daimary and 14 others were convicted on Monday under various sections of the IPC.

The NDFB chief's bail was cancelled immediately after his conviction and arrested, while the 14 others were already in judicial custody.

Nine serial blasts were triggered by the NDFB on October 30, 2008 -- three each in Guwahati and Kokrajhar, two in Barpeta and one in Bongaigaon -- killing 88 people and injuring 540 others.

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Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.

AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.

“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.

He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.

“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.

According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.

In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.

AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.