Accused in 2013 Gandhi Maidan blast arrested by Bihar STF after 10 years

PATNA: An accused in the 2013 Gandhi Maidan blast case was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Bihar Police from Darbhanga on Saturday after he was on the run for 10 years, police said on Sunday.

According to police, the accused, identified as Mehre Alam, had escaped from the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Muzaffarpur on October 29, 2013, and a case was lodged by the NIA against Alam on October 30, 2013.

“He was arrested from his residence under the Ashok paper mill police station in the district,” police said.

According to officials aware of the matter, Alam who is being interrogated, is said to be close to one Monu, another accused in the bomb blast.

Serial blasts rocked the Gandhi Maidan on October 29, 2013, during the ‘Hunkar Rally’ of then BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi. Six persons were killed and 82 people were injured.

In November 2021, the NIA court convicted 9 people out of which four were sentenced to death and two were awarded life imprisonment. Two got 10 years sentence and one seven years.