8 JMB Bangladeshi terrorists convicted in India's Bodh Gaya blast

A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in India's Patna convicted eight out of nine Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorists as they confessed their crime of planning and executing 2018 Bodh Gaya blast.

This is the first case of NIA in Bihar where the accused confessed to their crime on their own before court, Reports Times of India.

The special NIA court of ADJ-XV Gurvinder Singh Malhotra has fixed December 17 to pronounce the quantum of sentence.

Those who were pronounced guilty on Friday on the basis of their confession are Ahmad Ali alias Kalu, Nur Alam Momin, Mohammad Adil Sheikh, Abdul Karim, Mustafizur Rehman, Arif Hussain, Mohammad Paigambar Sheikh and Dilawar Hossain.

The ninth accused Mohammad Jehidul Islam, a Bangladeshi national and allegedly having direct linkages with JMB, has yet not filed any petition confessing his crime.

When asked, Special public prosecutor (NIA) Lallan Prasad Sinha told this newspaper over the phone that the counsels for the eight accused terrorists submitted once again before court on Friday that they are confessing their involvement in the blast which was accepted.

Sinha said that afterwards, court convicted them on basis of their confession

"They have been convicted under Sections 121, 121A, 123 of Indian Penal Code, The Explosive Substances Act, The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and other relevant laws," Sinha said.

Six of the nine accused had filed a joint petition before the special NIA court on October 22 this too year confessing their crime.

Paigambar, Dilawar and Jehidul were the only ones who had not filed any confession petition that time.

A low intensity IED exploded near Kalachakra ground in Bodh Gaya on January 19, 2018. Buddhist guru Dalai Lama was present in Bodh Gaya that time for delivering his sermons. Later three more IEDs were recovered from gate number four of Mahabodhi temple and near entrance of a Lankan monastery. It was just beside this monastery that Dalai Lama was staying.

NIA had field chargesheet against the accused that they hatched the terror plot to take revenge against alleged atrocities on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Terror organisation JMB was accused for planning the blast. Jehidul allegedly had direct linkages with JMB and was working to create its grounds in India.

JMB is a banned organisation by Union ministry of home affairs.