<div>A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court framed charges against the 30 accused in the October 2014 blast at Khagragarh in Burdwan. <br /><br />The court will start hearing the case from August 19, where all the accused have been booked under the Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA). The NIA claimed that the accused have been plotting to topple the democratically-elected Awami League government in neighbouring Bangladesh.<br /><br />Sanjay Bansal, the counsel for the NIA said that the agency submitted a 164-page charge sheet in May, followed by three supplementary charge sheets, the last of which was submitted on June 21. The charge sheet stated that while 20 of the accused, including two women, are behind bars, 10 others are absconding. Besides various sections of the UAPA, they have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for sedition, ‘waging war against the nation’ and ‘waging war against a friendly nation’.<br /><br />The NIA has also charged the accused under sections of the Explosive Substances Act. The blast on the ground floor of a two-storied house in Khagragarh on October 2, 2014, uncovered an extensive network of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JuMB). Subsequent investigations led agencies to believe that the banned terror outfit has been working on behalf of Islamic State (IS), which has claimed responsibility for most acts of terror across the globe in recent times.<br /><br />The NIA and other agencies believe JuMB helped IS spread a network of fresh recruits from among impressionable Muslim youth in different parts of India, particularly in West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Senior officials claim that JuMB’s Khagragarh module was plotting to “overthrow the existing democratic government in Bangladesh through terror acts and replace it with a hard line Sharia-based Islamic rule.”<br /><br />Bansal said though the initial charge sheet did not include provisions to deal with sections for sedition and waging war against the state, the charges were subsequently added through supplementary chargesheets. He further said that of the eight key accused who are still absconding, many are believed to be in Bangladesh. The absconders include Nasirullah and Qausar, two Bangladeshi nationals who set up the Khagragarh module.<br /><br /></div>
<div>A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court framed charges against the 30 accused in the October 2014 blast at Khagragarh in Burdwan. <br /><br />The court will start hearing the case from August 19, where all the accused have been booked under the Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA). The NIA claimed that the accused have been plotting to topple the democratically-elected Awami League government in neighbouring Bangladesh.<br /><br />Sanjay Bansal, the counsel for the NIA said that the agency submitted a 164-page charge sheet in May, followed by three supplementary charge sheets, the last of which was submitted on June 21. The charge sheet stated that while 20 of the accused, including two women, are behind bars, 10 others are absconding. Besides various sections of the UAPA, they have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for sedition, ‘waging war against the nation’ and ‘waging war against a friendly nation’.<br /><br />The NIA has also charged the accused under sections of the Explosive Substances Act. The blast on the ground floor of a two-storied house in Khagragarh on October 2, 2014, uncovered an extensive network of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JuMB). Subsequent investigations led agencies to believe that the banned terror outfit has been working on behalf of Islamic State (IS), which has claimed responsibility for most acts of terror across the globe in recent times.<br /><br />The NIA and other agencies believe JuMB helped IS spread a network of fresh recruits from among impressionable Muslim youth in different parts of India, particularly in West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Senior officials claim that JuMB’s Khagragarh module was plotting to “overthrow the existing democratic government in Bangladesh through terror acts and replace it with a hard line Sharia-based Islamic rule.”<br /><br />Bansal said though the initial charge sheet did not include provisions to deal with sections for sedition and waging war against the state, the charges were subsequently added through supplementary chargesheets. He further said that of the eight key accused who are still absconding, many are believed to be in Bangladesh. The absconders include Nasirullah and Qausar, two Bangladeshi nationals who set up the Khagragarh module.<br /><br /></div>
