India’s National Investigation Agency has filed a formal charge sheet on September 11 accusing three further suspects of conspiring in the July 7, 2013 terrorist blasts at Bodh Gaya, the place of Gautama Buddha’s enlightenment. The accused are Haider Ali, Mujibullah and Taufique Ansari. Three other suspects have already been charge sheeted and are in prison awaiting trial. Their names are Umer Siddiqui, Azharuddin Qureshi and Imtiyaz Ansari. The blasts had injured two monks.
The agency has said that they have established conclusive forensic evidence that should be sufficient to indict the three, who are thought to have triggered the blasts as a revenge against supposed suppression of Rohingya Muslims in Buddhist majority Myanmar.
The NIA had declared in their statement, “It has been established through scientific investigation that in pursuance to this conspiracy Haider Ali and his associates undertook five reconnaissance trips to Bodh Gaya to observe the security arrangements and decide the exact places where bombs were to be planted. The accused then procured material from different places and prepared cylinder bombs and executed the serial blasts. The scientific investigation which includes forensic analysis and DNA fingerprinting has established the involvement of the arrested persons in the case.”
The agency had also stated that they had found a robe matching those worn by Buddhist monks, and based on DNA samples found on the robe, they were able to pin down Haider Ali. They believe that Ali used the robe to disguise himself while walking to plant the explosives.
The accused and their teams are also said to have been instigating young men in the state of Jharkhand to join the extremist organisation. They have been screening videos and giving lectures about alleged atrocities that are being imposed upon Muslims across the globe.
Bodh Gaya is one of the most important pilgrimage spots for Buddhists. Bodh Gaya iwas visited by 270,000 visitors in 2012, which dropped to 110,00 in 2013 due to the bomb blasts.