In a significant verdict on Saturday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court sentenced six individuals to varying prison terms for their involvement in an attempt to sabotage railway safety by planting an improvised explosive device (IED) in Bihar. The 2016 incident involved a pressure cooker IED placed on a track near the Ghorasahan railway station.
The convicted individuals received sentences ranging from 5 to 12 years, accompanied by fines. The NIA stated that the group aimed to target a passenger train traveling from Narkatiaganj on the night of September 30. Fortunately, vigilant local residents spotted the suspicious device and alerted authorities, who successfully defused the IED, averting a potential disaster.
Investigations initially conducted by local police identified the six perpetrators: Umashankar Raut (also known as Umashankar Patel or Raju Patel), Gajendra Sharma (also known as Gajendra Thakur), Rakesh Kumar Yadav (also known as Rakesh), Mukesh Kumar Yadav (also known as Mukesh), Motilal Paswan (also known as Moti), and Ranjay Kumar Sah (also known as Ranjay).
The NIA took over the investigation in January 2017, leading to the subsequent arrest of three suspects by local police and two by the NIA at different times. The sixth suspect surrendered in February 2017. A chargesheet was filed against all accused by July of the same year.
