Ara Civil Court bombing

Ara Civil Court bombing
Ara is located in India
Ara
Ara
Ara (India)
Location of blast
LocationArrah, Bihar, India
Coordinates25°33′48″N 84°39′53″E / 25.56333°N 84.66472°E / 25.56333; 84.66472
Date23 January 2015 (2015-01-23)
11:30 am (UTC + 5:30)
Attack type
suicide bombing
Deaths3 (including the bomber)
Injured7+
MotiveHelp undertrial prisoners escape

On 23 January 2015, a bomb went off at the civil court premises of Ara, Bhojpur district, Bihar, India in order to facilitate a prison escape.[1][2]

Blast

There was a blast in the civil court premises around 11:35 am IST. A suspected woman might have carried out the suicide bombing as per initial findings. Two persons along with the woman were killed in the blast, one of them was a police constable. At least seven more people were injured in the attack.[1][2] Taking advantage of the chaos following the blast, two criminals under trial who were brought to the court for a hearing fled the premises.[3][4]

Investigation

Bihar Police searched the whole court premises.[1][2] The police arrested Sunil Pandey, the Janata Dal (United) politician, in connection with the crime.[5]

Additional Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey said the woman was carrying the bomb in her purse and it had exploded accidentally, denying she was a suicide bomber. The woman was identified as Rina Gaudh, the district magistrate of Bhojpur said she was trying to help two prisoners escape, she didn't carry out a terror attack.[6]

In 2019, Lambu Sharma was sentenced to a life term for his role in the attack. Sharma, a local gangster and explosives expert was one of the prisoners that successfully fled when the blast went off.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Bihar: Bomb blast in Arrah court premises, one feared dead, seven injured". Hindustan Times. 23 January 2015. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Ara civil court blast: 3 dead; all aspects being probed, says Bihar Police". Zee News. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  3. ^ Nanjappa, Vicky (23 January 2015). "Bihar explosion aimed at helping prisoners flee?". www.oneindia.com. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Blast kills two in India as security tightened for Republic Day". smh.com.au. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  5. ^ "JD(U) MLA Sunil Pandey arrested - The Hindu".
  6. ^ "Woman who triggered bomb blast in Bihar court identified". Deccan Herald. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  7. ^ Kumar, Avinash (21 August 2019). "2015 Ara court blast: Death sentence to one; life term for seven". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 24 August 2024.