The District Police Office in Rautahat has said that it will provide special security for the petitioner, witnesses, victims and their family members of the high-profile Rajpur bomb blast case.

The Rautahat District Court on November 15 remanded Nepali Congress lawmaker Mohammad Aftab Alam to judicial custody in connection with the explosion and the subsequent murder of at least 23 people 12 years ago. He is currently in Nakhkhu Prison in Lalitpur.

Read: A witness in Alam trial says he was abducted and forced to change statement

“There are around 20 people, including petitioner, witness, injured, deceased’s family members of the case. We are doing everything possible to provide them security,” said Superintendent of Police Bhupendra Khatri.

Police have provided security for the petitioner, witnesses, victims and their family members after the district court, acting on their appeal for security, instructed the local administration to provide security.

The authorities expressed their concerns as Gauri Shankar Ram Chamar, an Indian national, who had sustained serious injuries in the blast, took asylum at the District Police Office citing threats from Alam’s henchmen while the trial was going on at the court.

Read: Two witnesses in Alam trial change their statements

Shrinarayan Singh of Saruatha, who lost his son in the blast in 2008, is said to be facing the highest level of threat, police said.

Singh and Roksana Khatun, whose son was believed to have been killed in the same incident, had lodged complaints after the explosion. Khatun was gunned down in 2011.

According to Khatri, an armed police head constable has been deployed for the security of Singh. Khatun’s daughter-in-law has also been provided tight security, he added.

Read: Formal trial on Alam’s case starts in Rautahat District Court

The Rautahat District Attorney’s Office had filed a charge sheet against Alam, demanding life imprisonment. The attorney’s office had also filed a case against 10 others for their involvement in the explosion. “We have deployed security personnel to arrest them,” said Khatri.

Police arrested Alam on October 13 for his alleged involvement in Rajpur bomb blast on April 9, 2008. Police had registered ‘attempted murder’ and ‘holding, transporting explosive materials’ charges against him. He is also facing charges of burning injured people alive in a brick kiln "to destroy evidence". Alam was elected to the federal parliament from Rautahat-2 in the 2017 elections.

Related stories:

- Department of Money Laundering Investigation notifies District Police for investigation into Alam’s properties

- Alam refuses to undergo polygraph test

- Congress lawmaker Mohammad Aftab Alam arrested in relation to 2008 Rautahat blast