Patna: Vikas Vaibhav, Special Secretary, Home Department, Government of Bihar on Tuesday remembered late IG Sanjeev Kumar Singh who was leading the team investigating the 2013 Patna’s Gandhi Maidan serial bomb blasts case. Vaibhav was also a part of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team.
Remembering his senior officer, Vaibhav said, "it is the result of his guidance that the terrorists have been punished now. Gathering evidence was not easy as the investigation was going on in several states including Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand,"
Vaibhav's statement comes a day after the Patna Special NIA court delivered the quantum of punishment in 2013 Patna’s Gandhi Maidan serial bomb blasts case.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Vaibhav applauded the National Investigation Agency (NIA) saying that because of the agency's great work, four out of nine terrorists, Haider Ali, Noman Ansari, Mohammad Mujibullah Ansari and Imtiaz Alam have been sentenced to death.
Vaibhav further said that it was a very challenging time as the Bodh Gaya bomb blast had also taken place just 3 months before the Gandhi Maidan incident and collecting evidence against any terrorist is the most difficult task.
"It was a very challenging time because we were also investigating the Bodh Gaya blast. Gathering information against terrorists is the most difficult task. The then NIA team was very good. The team had good coordination. The investigation was done in such a way that the evidence could be presented before the court properly. There are many memories related to the investigation. Now when the results have come, I missed the then IG Sanjeev Kumar Singh who was leading the team," Vaibhav said.
The Patna Special NIA court on Monday delivered the quantum of punishment. Nine of the ten accused in the serial blasts that took place at the venue of then prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s Hunkar rally in Patna were convicted while one accused, Fakruddin was acquitted due to the lack of evidence against him.
According to the Court's order, four accused were to be hanged and two are sentenced to life imprisonment and two to 10 years imprisonment and one accused is sentenced to seven years imprisonment in the eight-year-old deadly Gandhi Maidan serial blasts.
On October 27 in 2013, as many as six people were killed and 84 others were injured in the blasts. On the same fateful day, a similar blast was reported from Patna Junction railway station. Several leaders of BJP including the then CM Narendra Modi were to take part in the rally.
Read: 4 get death penalty in Patna Gandhi Maidan Blast Case, life term for two
