Court sentences 3 JMB men for 2005 bomb blasts

A Dhaka court on Monday awarded three members of the banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) to different terms of imprisonment in a case filed for bombs blasts in Farmgate during a series bomb blasts across the country on August 17, 2005. Judge Md Kamrul Hossain Molla of Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judges court passed the order in presence of the convicts, Abdullah-al-Fattah Shakil, Md Tarek Iqbal and Md Rezaul Karim Reza. Shakil and Reza were given 17 years in jail and fined Tk50,000 each, in default of which they would have to serve six months more in prison. Iqbal was awarded eight years of imprisonment and fined Tk50,000, in default of which he would have to serve six months more in jail. The court sent the three JMB men to jail after delivering the verdict. A total of 18 out of 47 prosecution witnesses testified before the court in the case. On August 17, 2005, around 500 bombs went off at 300 different locations in 63 districts across the country. JMB, the banned Islamist militant outfit, claimed responsibility for the blasts. According to the case, these criminals set off bombs in front of Ananda Cinema Hall at Farmgate and Moakhali bus stands. A case was filed with Tejgaon police station under the Explosive Substances Act over the incident. After concluding investigation, police submitted a charge sheet against the three accused to court on October 23, 2007.