Five accused in Bodh Gaya blasts case convicted
Patna, May 25 : A Bihar court on Friday convicted all the five accused in the 2013 serial blasts that rocked Bodh Gaya's Mahabodhi temple.
The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court headed by Judge Manoj Kumar Sinha delivered the verdict.
"The five persons -- Umer Siddiqui, Azharuddin Siddiqui, Hauser Ali, Mujibullah Ansari, Imtitaz Ansari -- were convicted by the court after the hearing was completed," NIA lawyer Lalan Kumar Sinha told reporters here.
The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on May 31.
The NIA said the blasts on July 7, 2013, were carried out with an intention to kill domestic and foreign pilgrims, especially Buddhists in order to create terror at a place of worship.The blasts injured five people including two monks. No casualties were reported.
The Bodh Gaya temple is a Unesco World Heritage site. The Buddha attained enlightenment around 2,500 years ago.
As many as 13 bombs were planted, out of which nine or 10 exploded while three live bombs were defused.
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Waqf Bill: Oppn members meet LS Speaker to protest par panel chairman's 'unilateral' decisions
New Delhi, Nov 5: Opposition members in the parliamentary committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday to register their protest against alleged "unilateral" decisions being taken by panel chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal.
They said the Speaker heard them patiently and assured them of a decision at the earliest.
"It was a very nice discussion. He was very kind to us. The Speaker has very patiently heard us and said he will look into the matter," TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh and DMK MP A Raja spoke on similar lines.
"It was a fruitful meeting, the Speaker assured us of looking into our grievances," he said.
The MPs also submitted a memorandum to the Speaker detailing their concerns.
According to sources, the MPs submitted a letter to the Speaker, signed by Opposition MPs including Congress's Mohammad Jawed and Imran Masood, DMK's Raja, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, AAP's Sanjay Singh and TMC's Kalyan Banerjee.
Opposition MPs have accused Pal, the chairperson of the committee scrutinising the Bill, of taking "unilateral decisions" on fixing the dates of sittings -- which were at times for three consecutive days -- and whom to call as witnesses.
The MPs, in the memorandum, urged the Speaker to direct the Chairman of the JPC to have a formal consultation with members of the Committee before taking decisions on such issues, according to sources
They had also said they may be forced to "disassociate with JPC once for all as we have been stonewalled".
To a query on the issue on Tuesday, the MPs refused to divulge details. "We cannot reveal the details of the conversation," Singh said.
On whether they will continue to attend the meetings of the joint committee of the two Houses, Banerjee said, "Yes we will attend because the Speaker is looking into the matter".
The committee's proceedings have been stormy amid frequent protests from opposition members over a host of issues, while the BJP members have accused them of deliberately trying to scuttle its work.
