3 JMB men jailed for Aug 17 series blasts in Farmgate

Three members of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment in a case filed for blasts in front of Ananda Cinema Hall in Dhaka’s Farmgate area during a series bomb blasts on August 17, 2005.

Metropolitan Sessions Judge Kamrul Hossain Mollah passed the order in presence of the convicts -- Abdullah-al-Fattah Shakil, Md Tarek Iqbal and Md Rezaul Karim Reza.

Shakil and Reza were given 17 years in jail and fined Tk 50,000, in default of which they would have to serve six months more in jail.

Besides, Iqbal was sentenced to eight years imprisonment and fined Tk 50,000, in default of which he would have to serve another six months in jail.

The JMB men were sent to jail after the verdict.

On August 17, 2005, around 500 bombs went off at 300 locations in 63 out of the 64 districts across the country. The bombs exploded in half an hour from 11:30am. JMB, the banned Islamist militant outfit, claimed responsibility for the blasts.