JANAKPUR, March 24: The District Court, Dhanusha, on Sunday, started the hearings on the notorious case of a  bomb blast in Janakpur in 2012 which took five lives. The then Member of Parliament Sanjay Sah aka Takala has been in police custody for the last six years on the charge of masterminding the blast.

The bomb blast took place at Ramanand Chowk of Janakpur on April 30, 2012 amidst a peaceful hunger strike demanding the formation of Mithila state. The bomb blast claimed the lives of two artists of Mithila Dance Council Ranju Jha and Bimal Upadhyay, as well as locals Suresh Upadhyay, Jhagaru Das and Dipendra Das. Dipendra died while receiving treatment in Kathmandu while the other four died on the spot. 

Thirty-two others sustained injuries from the shrapnel of the bomb. 

Sah, who has been accused of executing the blast, was elected as a member of the second Constituent Assembly from Janakpur some months before the accusation against him was made public. Police had presented him before the court claiming that their investigation into the case led to the conclusion that Sah was the mastermind behind the incident. 

The District Court had ordered the police to keep Sah under custody. The court started the hearings of the case, six years after the order was given.

It is believed that the court will decide on the matter in about three days as the arguments of more than a dozen lawyers are yet to be recorded at the court. 

Advocates Chandra Kumar Mainali, Bipin Jha, Balaram Subedi and Hem Karki are going to present their argument against Sah while advocates Shyam Mishra, Binod Sharma and Prakash Ghimire are set to defend Sah. 

Mukesh Chaudhary, Om Prakash Yadav, Ripendra Jha and Mukesh Karna are amongst the accused of executing the bomb blast along with Sah.

 
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