Dhemaji Blast Verdict Out, Six Found Guilty

Dhemaji, July 4, 2019:

Six persons have been found guilty in relation to the Dhemaji blast that rocked the Upper Assam town in 2004. The Dhemaji District & Session Judges Court delivered the judgment whereby six persons were found guilty, whereas eight persons were acquitted.

It is to be mentioned that the court proceedings have been going on for over fifteen years. A total of 15 accused were convicted under sections 120/120B/121A/122/302/326 of the Indian Penal Code.

Leila Khan, Deepanjali Gohain, Jatin Duwori alias Rongmon, Prashanta Bhuyan, Hemen Gogoi, and Muhi Handique are the ones who have been found guilty by the Court.

Jaya Chutia, Min Baruah, Jiten Chutia, Mohan Chutia, Apsara Baruah, Chandranath Gogoi, Gobin Kalita, and Jaichandra Chutia are the ones who have been found innocent.

Another accused, Rashid Ali, is absconding.

Many persons have expressed dissatisfaction at the long time it has taken for the concerned authorities to pronounce judgment. Moreover, criticism has already started pouring in as to why eight of the accused are being allowed to go scot-free.

The Dhemaji blast is one of the most tragic incidents in the history of Assam state as as many as seventeen children were killed and over forty were injured in the blast which took place in the morning of 15 August, 2014 in front of the Dhemaji College.

The bombing by Assamese militant group called United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) killed 18 people and injured many others. Most of the victims were schoolchildren aged between 12 and 14 and their mothers.

A local, while speaking to mediapersons outside the Court questioned why it has taken so long for the Court to reach this conclusion. "The proceedings have been delayed. We were young when the case first started, but this whole situation has been so long drawn out that now we have become old. We simply want justice", he said.

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