On June 15, 2016, a low-intensity explosive device detonated using a timed device exploded inside the Collectorate building in Kollam, Kerala. Photo credit: C. Suresh Kumar
The Chief Court of Kollam in Kerala on Thursday (November 7, 2024) sentenced the three accused in the 2016 Kollam collection point blast case to life imprisonment and fined them Rs 30,000 each.
The court ruled against Abbas Ali (31), Shamsoon Karim Raja (33) and Dawood Sule, residents of Madurai, Tamil Nadu Dawood Sulaiman (27 years old) is guilty of multiple crimes punishable under Section 307 (attempted murder) and Section 324 (voluntariness). Section 16(1)(b).
There were five defendants in the case, and the fourth defendant, Shamsuddin, was acquitted by the court due to insufficient evidence. Another accused, Muhammed Ayoob, turned supporter and the verdict was delivered by Chief District Judge G. Gopakumar.
The three prisoners were members of Al Qaeda, a group that allegedly supports al Qaeda. They planned the low-intensity blast at the Kollam Collectorate premises on June 15, 2016, using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) hidden in lunch boxes. The IED was planted in an unused four-wheeler of the Labor Ministry parked near Monsif Court and detonated with the help of a time device. Although there were no casualties, one person was seriously injured in the incident.
The accused was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2017.
Prosecutors argued that this was a rare bombing aimed at inciting terror and that the defendant should be sentenced to the maximum penalty. The three pleaded for leniency, noting that they had already spent eight years in prison. The accused were brought to court from the special jail in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday afternoon.
During the investigation, it was discovered that Karim Raja had visited Kollam before the explosion and had taken photos and videos of the collectors on his mobile phone. The planning was done in Madurai. On the day of the explosion, he took a bus to Quilon to install the device.
The prosecution presented 63 witnesses, 119 documents and 24 exhibits during the trial.
Published – November 7, 2024 04:56 pm (IST)
