A special NIA court on Wednesday convicted nine out of 10 accused in the 2013 Gandhi Maidan serial blasts case in Patna. One accused was acquitted on account of absence of evidence. The blasts rocked the state capital’s historic ground which was the venue of then BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s ‘Hunkar’ rally.

Modi had gone to Patna to address a ‘Hunkar’ rally at the Gandhi Maidan on October 27, 2013. Just ahead of the rally, a series of blasts claimed six lives and injured over 90. Modi, however, went ahead with the rally. He condemned the blasts and appealed for calm.

The NIA took up the case on November 6, 2013. It filed a charge sheet against the 11 accused in August 2014. Nine Indian Mujahideen (IM) suspects and a Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) suspect were accused in the case.

According to the agency, the accused had planned the Patna blasts after they failed to get close to Narendra Modi at previous rallies in New Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh.