Four convicts were awarded life imprisonment by a city court for assassinating then Union Railways Minister lalit Narayan Mishra and two others in a bomb blast at Samastipur Railway Station in Bihar, some 40 years back.
District Judge Vinod Goel handed down the life imprisonment term to Ranjan Dwivedi, Santoshanand, Sudevanand and Gopalji, who were convicted for offences under various provisions of the IPC, including sections 302 (murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).
The four convicts were also held guilty of possessing hand grenades under the Explosive Substances Act. “I am awarding life imprisonment to Ranjan Dwivedi, Santoshanand, Sudevanand and Gopalji,” the judge said.
Besides the jail term, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 each on Santoshanand, 75, Sudevanand, 79, while a fine of Rs 20,000 each was slapped on Dwivedi, 66 and Gopalji, 73.
The court, in its judgement, directed the Bihar Government to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the legal heirs of Mishra and two other victims who had died in the incident.