Bengaluru, July 09: The NIA Special Court of the city on Monday convicted three accused who admitted to their involvement in bomb blast near Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in 2010, to 7 year imprisonment.

The convicted Kamal Hasan, Gowhar Azeez Khomani and Mohammed Kafeel Akhtar, who had already spent six years in jail, have to undergo seven years imprisonment including one year rigorous imprisonment. Along with the jail term, the convicted were also slapped penalty of Rs 7.5 lakh each to Khomani and Hasan, while Rs 10 lakh to Akhtar. If the convicted failed to pay the penalty, they have to undergo one more year jail term, the court said.

Judge Siddalinga Prabhu heard the case. Public prosecutor CA Ravindra argued in favour of the government. As the accused had admitted to their involvement in the crime before the court, the judge declared the judgment. In all there were 13 accused in the case including Yaseen Bhatkal and the court has given punishment only for three now.

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Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.

The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.

The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.

Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.

ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.

When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.

Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.

Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.

The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.

The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.

Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.

The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.

Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.