All 6 Convicts Acquitted In 2004 Assam Blast That Killed 13 Schoolchildren

The Gauhati High Court on Thursday acquitted all six persons accused in the 2004 Dhemaji bomb blast, citing the lack of sufficient evidence.

Eighteen people, including 13 school children, were killed in a bomb blast on August 15, 2004, at the Dhemaji College ground. Banned militant group United Liberation Front of Asom had taken responsibility for the explosion, which had taken place during Independence Day celebrations.

In July 2019, a Dhemaji court had sentenced four accused persons – Dipanjali Buragohain, Muhi Handique, Jatin Dowari and Leela Gogoi – to life imprisonment. It had also pronounced four-year jail terms for two other convicts – Prashanta Bhuyan and Hemen Gogoi.