Ranchi: A special NIA court on Tuesday sentenced 12 people to rigorous imprisonment between 8 and 10 years and imposed fines ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs 90,000 in the 2016 Magadh-Amrapali terror funding case.The court sentenced five to RI of 10 years under sections 16, 17, 20 and 23 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Six were sentenced to eight years of RI under the same UAPA sections. Another convict was sentenced to five years of RI.Sources said longer sentences were awarded to those with more serious criminal antecedents. The period already spent in custody will be set off against their prison terms. Another accused, Ajit Kumar Thakur, was discharged.The court also ordered the forfeiture of properties seized from the convicts on the grounds that they constituted proceeds of terrorism.Police registered a case at Tandwa police station in Chatra district in 2016 after recovering Rs 91 lakh from the house of Binod Kumar Ganjhu, who ran a transport company in Magadh area.The case involved alleged extortion from contractors, transporters and coal traders, with the money being used to support the banned outfit Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC).National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe in Feb 2018 on the Centre’s direction. Following a Supreme Court order in Nov 2022 to complete the trial within a year, proceedings were conducted on a day-to-day basis.NIA had filed the chargesheet and supplementary chargesheet against a total of 21 accused on Dec 22, 2018, and Jan 10, 2020, respectively. The initial trial against 13 accused was completed with 119 witnesses deposing before the court.
