NEW DELHI: An NIA court in Guwahati sentenced a National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militant to life imprisonment in a 2014 case of indiscriminate firing at villagers in Assam's Kokrajhar district.
The court sentenced Rabi Basumatary, alias Rongjabaja, for committing the offence and slapped various fine on him.
He was also awarded a 10-year sentence in another matter.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]On May 1, 2014, Rabi, along with six other NDFB cadres, entered the Balapra village under Gosaigaon police station area and opened indiscriminate fire at the local residents on instructions from the militant group's top leadership.
Seven villagers were killed and two grievously injured in the case, in which Rabi was arrested in September 2016 and chargesheeted by the NIA in March 2017.
The original charge sheet in the case was filed in Gosaigaon against accused Pradip Brahma, alias Pwler, in August 2015.
A second supplementary charge sheet was filed in October 2019 against accused Upen Basumatary, alias Usaobadao, while a third supplementary charge sheet was filed in January 2021 against five absconding accused.
The NIA court convicted and sentenced accused Brahma to life imprisonment in July 2016, while a trial against Upen Basumatary is ongoing and search for the absconding accused is continuing.