Charges framed against 11 persons in Ara civil court bomb blast case

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Ara: Additional District and Sessions Judge I, Ara,  Braj Bhushan Singh, framed charges of murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy against 11 persons including former Tarari MLA Narendra Kumar Pandey alias Sunil Pandey on Friday in  Ara Civil Court bomb blast case.

The persons against whom the court framed charges are: Narendra Kumar Pandey alias Sunil Pandey, Lambu Sharma, Akhilesh Upadhyaya alias Musa Upadhyaya, Chand Mian, Pramod Singh, Shyam Binay Sharma, Anshu Kumar, Rinku Yadav, Bijay Sharma. Md Naeem and Sanjay Sonar. Now speedy trial against these accused will be started in the court. Of the eleven accused,  Sunil Pandey and Chand Mian are on bail while the rest are in jail. Of them four including Akhilesh Upadhayaya, Lambu Sharma, Rinku Yadav and Anshu Kumar are in Bhagalpur central jail since May 5, 2016. All the accused were produced before the court before framing of charges against them. Lambu Sharma, Akhilesh Upadhayaya, Rinku Yadav and Anshu Kumar were brought from the Bhagalpur central jail under tight security.

Two persons including Amit Kumar, a constable deputed at the court hazat on the campus of Ara civil court, and bomb carrier  woman Nagina Devi alias Nagina Gond of Balia in Utter Pradesh were killed and over two dozen persons injured in a human bomb blast near Ara civil court hazat on January 23, 2015, when the undertrial prisoners were being brought to Ara Civil court from Ara jail for their attendance. Two undertrial prisoners: Lambu Sharma and Akhilesh Yadav had escaped from the police custody in the melee after the blast.

After the bomb blast, security arrangements were tightened on the campus of Ara civil court. Five door metal detectors and 10 hand metal detectors are being used to frisk the visitors at all the three entry points. 16 CCTV cameras were installed on the court premises though three of them are not in working condition. After bomb blast at the gate of the Sasaram civil court, even the advocates are frisked to ensure foolproof security on the campus though the advocates of the Ara Civil court had earlier vehemently objected and had frisking of advocates and had linked it with their prestige.

ADG (law and order) Alok Raj visited the Ara civil court to review the security arrangements on the court campus and even in the court rooms and buildings and directed that vendors at the court premises should be issued I-cards.

Before Janyary 23, 2015, a bomb blast had occurred on July 10, 2009 in which an advocate Binay Kumar Tiwari and the bomb carrier were killed. Bhojpur district administration had claimed to arrange security on the court campus but in vain.

Employees and advocates of the court said that had the district administration made security arrangement after the July 10, 2009, bomb blast, the incident of bomb blast on January 23, 2015 could have been averted. Besides, they said that video conferencing facility was made available at the Ara Civil court but it is lying idle. They said frequent escape of under trial prisoners from the police custody and any other law and order problem could have been avoided if attendance of the under trial prisoners had been made through video conferencing from the Ara jail.