An Indian National Security Guard soldier collects the evidence from the site a blast at the Mahabodhi Temple or the great Awakening Temple complex, in Bodhgaya, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Patna, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Bihar, Monday, July 8, 2013. A series of blasts hit three Buddhist sites in eastern India early Sunday, injuring at least two people. The temple is a UNESCO world heritage site where Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. (AP Photo/Manish Bhandari)
A special NIA court here, which had last week convicted five Indian Mujahideen militants in the 2013 Bodh Gaya blasts case, on Thursday deferred till Friday the pronouncement of quantum of sentence.
Special NIA Judge Manoj Kumar Sinha posted the matter after hearing arguments from the prosecution, which pressed for severe punishment to the convicts, and counter-arguments from the defence side.
Special Public Prosecutor Lalan Kumar Sinha said all five convicts – Imtiyaz Ansari, Haider Ali, Mujib Ullah, Omair Siddiqui and Azharuddin Qureishi – should be awarded imprisonment for life.
He argued that the blasts triggered at a world-renowned pilgrim spot could have caused “heavy casualties, leading to national and…
