The Sessions Court of the Kamrup district on Thursday granted bail to chief of the Bodo militant outfit, National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Ranjan Daimary regarding the case of October 30, 2008 serial blasts of Assam.
The CBI, who had probed the serial blasts that killed over 100 people and injured over 500 others in Guwahati and other three towns of the State, charge-sheeted Daimary and 21 others in the case.
The court had, however, asked Daimary not to leave Guwahati without prior permission from the court and also instructed him to be present in all the hearings of the court regarding the case.
The rebel leader would, however, not be able to walk free immediately as there are another four cases pending against him in various courts of the State.
“The court had granted bail to Daimary regarding the case of October 30, 2008 serial blasts against regular bail bond of `3 lakh. There are another four cases pending against him. We have moved bail petitions against all the cases and hope that the respective courts will grant bail to Daimary soon for the sake of peace talks with the NDFB,” said Manas Sarania, Daimary’s advocate.
Daimary had been languishing in the Guwahati Central Jail here since mid-2010 ever since his arrest in Bangladesh and the subsequent handing over to the Indian authorities by the Bangladesh.
Daimary’s release is expected to expedite the proposed talks process between the NDFB faction led by Daimary and the Central Government for the sake of lasting peace, particularly in Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts (BTAD).
Women rights activist and Daimary’s sister Anjali Daimary hailed the decision of the court on Thursday and hoped that Daimary would get bail in other cases too.
Daimary’s release was, however, opposed by a Forum of the Assam’s terrorist victims’ families, who had been demanding exemplary punishment to Daimary for killing over 100 innocent people during the 2008 serial blasts.
The organisation — Forum for Terrorist Victims’ Families, Assam (FTVFA) had referred to the recent Supreme Court verdict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts and said how can the court grant bail to Daimary when the SC had pronounced exemplary punishments to the accused of Mumbai blasts of 1993.