2 given life for Modinagar bus blast

GHAZIABAD: Two people, including a Pakistani national, were given life imprisonment by the Ghaziabad sessions court for their role in the 1996 Modinagar blast which claimed 16 lives and left 48 injured. The bomb had gone off in a UP Roadways bus with more than 60 people on board.
The first accused Abdul Matin is a Pakistani national, while the second, Mohammad Ilyas, is a resident of Punjab.A third person, Taslim, accused of being a conduit between Ilyas and Matin, was acquitted of all charges.
"Police investigation unearths that Matin had entered India with devious plans in mind. Because the co-accused Mohammad Ilyas also frequently visited J&K, it gives weight to the version that they met while Matin was in that state," said the court order. The prosecution had said that Ilyas owned a furniture shop and often visited J&K.
According to the prosecution in the case, investigating agencies first zeroed in on the role of Mohammad Ilyas based on the information from informers.