TIRUPATI: A court here on Thursday convicted three Maoists for their involvement in Alipiri bomb blast case and sentenced them to four years of rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of `500 each. The three, along with other Maoists, were charged with planting directional mines at Alipiri, the foothills of Tirumala, in October 2003 targeting the then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, but he escaped miraculously from the blast.
A special investigation team (SIT), formed to probe the case, filed a charge-sheet naming 33 persons -- all Naxalite leaders and sympathisers. Two separate chargesheets were filed.
Additional senior civil judge O Venkata Nageswara Rao, who heard the arguments of the prosecution and defence on the second chargesheet, delivered the verdict on Thursday.
The three accused named in the charge sheet, G Ram Mohan Reddy alias Teja, 35, S Narasimha Reddy alias Rajasekhar, 41, and M Chandra alias Kesav, were produced before the court. The accused were charged under IPC Sections 148, 307, 324, 326 r/w 149 and Sections 4, 5 and 6 Explosion Substances Act. Judge Venkata Nageswara Rao convicted the trio and sentenced them to undergo four years’ RI and to pay a fine of `500 each.
The accused surrendered to the police and since then they have been living freely.
After they gave themselves up, the police filed the second charge sheet.
Public prosecutor G Sudhakar Babu termed the punishment unsatisfactory. ‘’We will go through the judgment copy to know on what basis on which the quantum of punishment was decided,” he said.