Bhagalpur: The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADJ)-11 Jyoti Kumar Kashyap in Bhagalpur on Tuesday sentenced two persons—Md Azad and Naveen Mandal—both residents of Kajwalichak, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with the explosion at a house in Kajwalichak locality under Tatarpur police station area in 2022. Fifteen people, including eight men and seven women, died in the blast.Following the sentencing, the convicts were taken into custody and sent to jail, while three other accused were acquitted.The court sentenced the convicts to nine years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs10,000 each under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In case of default of payment of the fine, they will have to undergo an additional three months of imprisonment. The court also awarded them 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs10,000 each under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. The court ordered that all the sentences would run concurrently.Additional public prosecutor (APP) Hemkant Jha represented the prosecution.The verdict came nearly four-and-a-half years after the massive explosion at an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit allegedly operating from a residential house in Kajwalichak under Tatarpur police station area on March 3, 2022 night. Following the incident, then station house officer (SHO) of Tatarpur police station was suspended.Fifteen people, including eight men and seven women, died in the blast. Fourteen victims died on the spot, while Ayesha Mansoor, who had sustained critical injuries, died during treatment at a hospital in Siliguri, West Bengal.APP Hemkant Jha said the investigating team had found that explosive materials were allegedly stored illegally for manufacturing firecrackers, leading to the massive explosion. An FIR was registered at Tatarpur police station, and a chargesheet was filed against five accused.He said the prosecution examined 13 witnesses during the trial. Based on the evidence and witness testimonies, the court convicted and sentenced two accused while acquitting the remaining three.
