GUWAHATI: The CBI Special Court here on Monday found self-styled supremo of National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), Ranjan Daimary, guilty in the 2008 serial blasts in Assam.
The court also convicted 13 others accused in the blasts that killed 88 people besides injuring hundreds.
The quantum of the punishment will be announced on Wednesday.
Ranjan Daimary is the prime accused in the case. The 13 other accused who were pronounced guilty included George Boro, Ajoy Basumatary, Rahul Brahma, Rajen Goyari, Mathuram Brahma, Raju Sarkar, Prabhat Boro, Onsai Boro, Nilim Daimary, Indra Basumatary, Lokra Basumatary, Jayanti Brahma and B Thorai.
One of the accused, Mridul Goyari, was acquitted of the charges.
Nine blasts ripped through Assam on October 30, 2008 leaving 88 people dead and close to 500 injured, including 160 with serious injuries.
The blasts took place in Guwahati’s Ganeshguri, Panbazar and Kachari Ghat areas and at Barpeta, Kokrajhar, and Bongaigaon towns near-simultaneously.
The Assam government handed over the investigation to CBI, which had filed two charge sheets in 2009 and 2010 naming 22 people, including NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary. While Daimary is on bail 14 are in judicial custody and seven are absconding, out of whom three were reported to be dead.
Daimary, who was arrested in Bangladesh in December 2009 and subsequently handed over to Indian authorities, was granted bail by the court in 2013 after he agreed to sit for peace talks.
The absconding accused are B Bidai, Ganes Boro, Tarun Swargiary, Jitu Daimary while Binthilang, Uttam Swargiary and Tensu Narzary were reported dead.
“We have named 650 witnesses in the case who were examined by the court and listed 687 documents as evidence,” said special public prosecutor TD Goswami while talking to the media outside the court on Monday.
Ranjan Daimary alias DR Nabla formed the Boro Security Force (BSF) to fight for an independent Boroland on October 3, 1986, but later changed its name to National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
Although the outfit entered into a ceasefire agreement with the government of India in 2005, they often flouted the ceasefire ground rules.
The outfit suffered a split in 2008 after the serial blasts in Assam as the investigating agencies named Ranjan Daimary as the mastermind. Since then Ranjan Daimary has been heading the NDFB(R) faction.
Unfortunate: NDFB
The NDFB, meanwhile, has termed the judgment as “unfortunate”.
In a press statement, the outfit’s general secretary, B Ohnjalu, said that “In the middle of peace talks (between NDFB, government of India and Assam), the court has convicted NDFB president D R Nabla (Ranjan Daimary) which does not bode well for the future of the peace talks.”
The outfit appealed to the Centre to ensure the declaration of the quantum of punishment on January 30, 2019 “does not derail peace talks and that the NDFB president is released on bail as soon as possible”.
