The trial for the serial blasts that rocked Guwahati and other places of Assam on October 30 in 2008 begins today in a fast track CBI court in Guwahati.
Statements of 22 witnesses will be recorded in the court of justice Aparesh Chakraborty appointed specially for the trial.
In a bid to accelerate the trial process pending since 2011, the Assam Government approved the fast track court as recommended by the Gauhati High Court as demanded by the victims’ families.
It may be recalled that the serial blasts at three places in Guwahati, and at Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon suspected to be triggered by the Ranjan Daimary faction of the NDFB had left over 100 dead and 400 wounded nine years ago.
Since the beginning of the trail, statements of only 78 witnesses, out of 829 named in the CBI charge-sheet have been recorded so far. After the CBI had taken up the case, the agency has named 22 as prime accused including Daimary for the blasts.
Meanwhile, Ranjan Daimary who has been granted bail to initiate peace process opined that peace process and fast track trial of the serial blasts cannot go together.
The fast track proceeding has come as a breather for both the blast victims and also those accused as many of them are languishing in jail since then awaiting justice.