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The first witness in the trial of Bangladesh’s fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina gave evidence on Sunday, a man shot in the face during protests that toppled her last year.Hasina, 77, who has defied court orders to return from India to attend her trial on charges amounting to crimes against humanity, is accused of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed bid to crush the student-led uprising.Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations.The first witness, among the 11 cases that the prosecution is expected to present to the court, was Khokon Chandra Barman, whose story reflects the violence of the protests.The 23-year-old wears a mask to conceal his face, which was ripped apart by gunshot during the culmination of the protests on August 5, 2024, the same day that Hasina fled Dhaka by helicopter.”I want justice for the ordeal I’ve been going through, and for my fellow protesters who sacrificed their lives,” he told the court.Barman lost his left eye, while his right eye was damaged, as well as his lips, nose and teeth.A video showing Barman’s blood-covered face was played in court, with the opening statements aired on the state-run broadcaster.Prosecutors have filed five charges against Hasina — including failure to prevent mass murder — which amount to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law.”Sheikh Hasina was the nucleus around whom all the crimes committed during the July–August uprising revolved,” chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told the court on Sunday.Hasina is on trial in absentia alongside two other accused.One, her former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, is also a fugitive.The other, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, the former inspector general of police, is in custody. He has pleaded guilty.Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman said he wanted a “fair trial”, speaking to reporters outside the court.”People were killed and maimed — we demand the highest punishment for the crimes committed,” Asaduzzaman said.Amir Hossain, the state-appointed lawyer for Hasina, noted that Barman was shot during the chaotic final day of the weeks-long protests.He pointed out that several police officers were also killed in clashes with protesters and it was “unclear who actually shot Barman”.Hossain said he was not in contact with Hasina, who has refused to accept the authority of the court.The trial continues.

Indian filmmakers are locking up the rights to movie titles that can profit from the patriotism fanned by a four-day conflict with Pakistan, which killed more than 70 people.The nuclear-armed rivals exchanged artillery, drone and air strikes in May, after India blamed Pakistan for an armed attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.The fighting came to an end when US President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire.Now, some Bollywood filmmakers see an opportunity to cash in on the battle.India tagged its military action against Pakistan “Operation Sindoor”, the Hindi word for vermilion, which married Hindu women wear on their foreheads.The name was seen as a symbol of Delhi’s determination to avenge those widowed in the April 22 attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which sparked the hostilities.Film studios have registered a slew of titles evoking the operation, including: “Mission Sindoor”, “Sindoor: The Revenge”, “The Pahalgam Terror”, and “Sindoor Operation”.”It’s a story which needs to be told,” said director Vivek Agnihotri.”If it was Hollywood, they would have made 10 films on this subject. People want to know what happened behind the scenes,” he told AFP.Agnihotri struck box office success with his 2022 release, “The Kashmir Files”, based on the mass flight of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s.- Coloured narratives -The ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party gave that film a glowing endorsement, despite accusations that it aimed to stir up hatred against India’s minority Muslims.Since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, some critics say Bollywood is increasingly promoting his government’s ideology.Raja Sen, a film critic and screenwriter, said filmmakers felt emboldened by an amenable government.”We tried to wage a war and then we quietened down when Mr Trump asked us to. So what is the valour here?” Sen told AFP of the Pakistan clashes. Anil Sharma, known for directing rabble-rousing movies, criticised the apparent rush to make films related to the Pahalgam attack.”This is herd mentality… these are seasonal filmmakers, they have their constraints,” he said.”I don’t wait for an incident to happen and then make a film based on that. A subject should evoke feelings and only then cinema happens,” said Sharma.Sharma’s historical action flick “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha” (2001) and its sequel “Gadar 2″ (2023), both featuring Sunny Deol in lead roles, were big hits.In Bollywood, filmmakers often seek to time releases for national holidays like Independence Day, which are associated with heightened patriotic fervour.”Fighter”, featuring big stars Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, was released on the eve of India’s Republic Day on January 25 last year.- Anti-Muslim bias -Though not a factual retelling, it drew heavily from India’s 2019 airstrike on Pakistan’s Balakot.The film received mixed-to-positive reviews but raked in $28 million in India, making it the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of that year.This year, “Chhaava”, a drama based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, a ruler of the Maratha Empire, became the highest-grossing film so far this year. It also generated significant criticism for fuelling anti-Muslim bias. “This is at a time when cinema is aggressively painting Muslim kings and leaders in violent light,” said Sen.  “This is where those who are telling the stories need to be responsible about which stories they choose to tell.”Sen said filmmakers were reluctant to choose topics that are “against the establishment”.”If the public is flooded with dozens of films that are all trying to serve an agenda, without the other side allowed to make itself heard, then that propaganda and misinformation enters the public psyche,” he said.Acclaimed director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said true patriotism is promoting peace and harmony through the medium of cinema.Mehra’s socio-political drama “Rang De Basanti” (2006) won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film and was chosen as India’s official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.”How we can arrive at peace and build a better society? How we can learn to love our neighbours?” he asked.”For me that is patriotism.” 

Yashasvi Jaiswal made a sparkling hundred and Washington Sundar a blistering fifty before Mohammed Siraj struck with the last ball of Saturday’s play to bolster India’s hopes of a series-levelling win in the fifth and deciding Test against England at the Oval.India were dismissed for 396 in their second innings on the third day as they set England a target of 374 to win with just over two days’ remaining.Fast bowler Siraj, ever-present in all five matches of a gruelling series, yorked Zak Crawley for 14 with just two balls left to spark joyous celebrations among the tourists.England were 50-1 at stumps, still requiring a further 324 runs to win, with Ben Duckett 34 not out.No side have made more to win in the fourth innings of a Test at the Oval than England’s 263 in a one-wicket victory over Australia back in 1902.However, the most England have made to win any Test in the fourth innings was their 378 against India at Edgbaston in 2022, while they also chased down 371 at Headingley in the opening match of this series.”It is a replay from Headingley,” England fast bowler Josh Tongue, who took 5-125 on Saturday, told the BBC.He added: “It will be a great day of cricket tomorrow and a great day for us if we get the runs. It (the pitch) is doing a bit. A few balls tonight jumped off a good length but if you get through the first hour who knows?”Earlier, Jaiswal was out for 118, his second hundred of the series after the talented left-hander’s ton at Headingley.”I need to push, and I need to do well for my team,” said Jaiswal. “I was constantly talking to myself and enjoying the pressure.”The 23-year-old opener received superb support from Akash Deep in a third-wicket partnership of 107, the paceman belying his status as a nightwatchman with an accomplished 66 — his maiden Test fifty.Ravindra Jadeja and Sundar, both fresh from hundreds in Manchester, each made 53, with Sundar launching a brutal assault after a depleted England took the new ball.A wayward home team, a bowler down after Chris Woakes suffered a shoulder injury diving in the field on Thursday, harmed their own cause by dropping six catches in the innings, with Jaiswal reprieved three times.India resumed Saturday on 75-2.Deep, dropped in the slips by Crawley off Tongue on 21, went to fifty when he pulled Gus Atkinson for his ninth four.But with India on the verge of batting through the morning session without losing a wicket, Deep fell to Jamie Overton.- Gill falls shy of Gavaskar record -Shubman Gill, who has enjoyed a remarkable first series as India captain, fell to the very first ball after lunch when lbw to Atkinson for 11.His exit left Gill just 20 runs adrift of Sunil Gavaskar’s longstanding record for the most runs by an Indian cricketer in a Test series of 774, set against the West Indies in 1971.Gill compiled 754 runs at a superb average of 75, including four hundreds.Jaiswal’s quick single off Atkinson saw the elated batsman to a 127-ball century, including 12 fours and two sixes.Jaiswal, dropped on 110 by Duckett at leg gully, was eventually dismissed when he ramped Tongue straight to deep backward point before Jadeja completed his fifth fifty of the series in 71 balls.England took the new ball as soon as possible, with India 342-7 off 80 overs and promptly tried to bounce out Sundar in what proved to be an expensive ploy.The left-hander responded with three superb sixes, including hoisting Tongue over fine leg and deep midwicket in the space of three balls.Sundar then smashed two fours and a soaring six over midwicket off three successive Atkinson deliveries to complete a brilliant 39-ball fifty before he was last man out.

Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj took four wickets each as India fought back in the fifth and deciding Test against England at the Oval on Friday.England were 129-1 in reply to India’s 224 all out as they threatened to build a substantial first-innings lead.But they were eventually dismissed for 247, just 23 runs ahead, following a rain delay.In a match India must win to end the series level at 2-2, the recalled Krishna had figures of 4-62 in 16 overs and fellow paceman Siraj 4-86 in 16.2.Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett shared a blistering first-wicket stand of 92 in just 13 overs after England paceman Gus Atkinson marked his return to Test cricket with a five-wicket haul.Both openers fell either side of lunch, however, before stand-in England captain Ollie Pope, leading the side in place of the injured Ben Stokes, was lbw to Siraj for 22.Crawley and Duckett dominated India’s attack with a blizzard of boundaries before Akash Deep sparked the latest flare-up of a fractious series.Deep had Duckett caught behind for 43 off an attempted scoop, then put his arm round the unimpressed batsman’s shoulder and appeared to say a few words as he walked off.India’s KL Rahul pulled Deep away from Duckett before the bowler could say anything else.This incident came after India captain Shubman Gill accused England of ignoring the “spirit of cricket” by time-wasting in the third Test at Lord’s.England were then angered by the India’s decision to bat on in the fourth Test at Old Trafford rather than agree a draw as soon as possible.- Siraj stars -Ater Duckett’s exit, Crawley holed out off a miscued pull against Krishna for 64, with 56 of those runs coming in boundaries. The usually mild-mannered Joe Root, second in the all-time list of Test match run scorers, found himself exchanging words with Krishna before he was lbw to Siraj for 29.And when Siraj had Jacob Bethell lbw as the all-rounder played down the wrong line, England were 195-5.Jamie Smith then saw his edged drive off Krishna well caught by Rahul at second slip.Four balls later Jamie Overton was lbw to Krishna for a duck. Atkinson hit two well-struck boundaries before he mistimed a pull of Krishna to mid-on.Harry Brook gave England fans something to cheer with an extraordinary ‘falling’ sweep for six off Siraj during a 57-ball fifty. But Siraj bowled him for 53, with Brook the last man out as the injured Chris Woakes was unable to bat. England suffered a setback before Friday’s play, with paceman Woakes effectively ruled out of the rest of the match after suffering a shoulder injury when diving in an attempt to prevent a boundary on Thursday.But Atkinson responded with a superb return of 5-33 in 21.4 overs after striking twice on Thursday, when he also ran out the in-form Gill.The 27-year-old’s fourth five-wicket haul in just 13 Tests was all the more creditable as this was Atkinson’s first senior match since being sidelined with hamstring trouble following a one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May.India, who resumed on 204-6, lost their last four wickets for just 20 more runs in 5.4 overs on Friday. 

Every morning, Nepali primary school teacher Bina Tamang steps outside her home and checks the rain gauge, part of an early warning system in one of the world’s most landslide-prone regions.Tamang contributes to an AI-powered early warning system that uses rainfall and ground movement data, local observations and satellite imagery to predict landslides up to weeks in advance, according to its developers at the University of Melbourne.From her home in Kimtang village in the hills of northwest Nepal, 29-year-old Tamang sends photos of the water level to experts in the capital Kathmandu, a five-hour drive to the south.”Our village is located in difficult terrain, and landslides are frequent here, like many villages in Nepal,” Tamang told AFP.Every year during the monsoon season, floods and landslides wreak havoc across South Asia, killing hundreds of people.Nepal is especially vulnerable due to unstable geology, shifting rainfall patterns and poorly planned development.As a mountainous country, it is already “highly prone” to landslides, said Rajendra Sharma, an early warning expert at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.”And climate change is fuelling them further. Shifting rainfall patterns, rain instead of snowfall in high altitudes and even increase in wildfires are triggering soil erosion,” Sharma told AFP.- Saving lives -Landslides killed more than 300 people last year and were responsible for 70 percent of monsoon-linked deaths, government data shows.Tamang knows the risks first hand.When she was just five years old, her family and dozens of others relocated after soil erosion threatened their village homes.They moved about a kilometre (0.6 miles) uphill, but a strong 2015 earthquake left the area even more unstable, prompting many families to flee again.”The villagers here have lived in fear,” Tamang said.”But I am hopeful that this new early warning system will help save lives.”The landslide forecasting platform was developed by Australian professor Antoinette Tordesillas with partners in Nepal, Britain and Italy.Its name, SAFE-RISCCS, is an acronym of a complex title — Spatiotemporal Analytics, Forecasting and Estimation of Risks from Climate Change Systems. “This is a low-cost but high-impact solution, one that’s both scientifically informed and locally owned,” Tordesillas told AFP.Professor Basanta Adhikari from Nepal’s Tribhuvan University, who is involved in the project, said that similar systems were already in use in several other countries, including the United States and China.”We are monitoring landslide-prone areas using the same principles that have been applied abroad, adapted to Nepal’s terrain,” he told AFP. “If the system performs well during this monsoon season, we can be confident that it will work in Nepal as well, despite the country’s complex Himalayan terrain.”In Nepal, it is being piloted in two high-risk areas: Kimtang in Nuwakot district and Jyotinagar in Dhading district.- Early warnings -Tamang’s data is handled by technical advisers like Sanjaya Devkota, who compares it against a threshold that might indicate a landslide. “We are still in a preliminary stage, but once we have a long dataset, the AI component will automatically generate a graphical view and alert us based on the rainfall forecast,” Devkota said. “Then we report to the community, that’s our plan.”  The experts have been collecting data for two months, but will need a data set spanning a year or two for proper forecasting, he added.Eventually, the system will deliver a continuously updated landslide risk map, helping decision makers and residents take preventive actions and make evacuation plans.The system “need not be difficult or resource-intensive, especially when it builds on the community’s deep local knowledge and active involvement”, Tordesillas said.Asia suffered more climate and weather-related hazards than any other region in 2023, according to UN data, with floods and storms the most deadly and costly.And while two-thirds of the region have early warning systems for disasters in place, many other vulnerable countries have little coverage.In the last decade, Nepal has made progress on flood preparedness, installing 200 sirens along major rivers and actively involving communities in warning efforts.  The system has helped reduce flooding deaths, said Binod Parajuli, a flood expert with the government’s hydrology department.”However, we have not been able to do the same for landslides because predicting them is much more complicated,” he said.”Such technologies are absolutely necessary if Nepal wants to reduce its monsoon toll.”

Rights groups on Thursday urged Nepal to reverse a ban on the Telegram messaging app, calling the move a serious threat to freedom of expression and digital privacy.The Himalayan nation blocked access to the app on July 18, citing a rise in online fraud and money laundering.”The government’s ban is a serious human rights violation and a discriminatory decision,” said Taranath Dahal of Freedom Forum, a media freedom watchdog. “This shows the government can ban any platform without transparency, which is extremely concerning.”Freedom Forum was among more than two dozen organisations to release a statement demanding an “immediate” reversal of the ban.”The sudden, unlawful disruption has severely impacted journalists, human rights defenders, students, small businesses, and others who depend on the platform for essential day-to-day communication,” said a statement released by #KeepItOn, an international coalition of civil society organisations. Min Prasad Aryal, spokesperson for the Nepal Telecommunication Authority, confirmed the government’s directive.”We asked all internet service providers to block the app after receiving an order from the Prime Minister’s Office,” Aryal told AFP. In a statement sent to AFP, Telegram said it had “always responded to Nepal’s legal requests” and that it “actively moderates harmful content on its platform and removes cases of fraud and money laundering as soon as they are discovered, although we have not received any reports of this from Nepalese authorities”.Nepal has restricted access to popular online platforms in the past. In August last year, the government lifted a nine-month ban on TikTok after the platform’s South Asia division agreed to comply with Nepali regulations.Telegram, launched in 2013, is a cloud-based messaging app known for its privacy features and support for large group chats and broadcast channels. The app has an estimated billion users worldwide, but faces restrictions in some countries. Telegram’s Russian-born founder and chief executive Pavel Durov was briefly detained in France last year and questioned again this week about the platform’s alleged complicity in criminal activity.

India captain Shubman Gill ran himself out on Thursday’s opening day of the fifth and deciding Test against England as he closed in on Sunil Gavaskar’s national record for runs in a series.The tourists were 85-3 when rain stopped play for a second time at the Oval after being sent in to bat in a match India must win to square the series at 2-2.Gill, who has already scored four hundreds in a prolific debut campaign as captain, came in with India struggling on 38-2.At that stage, he needed just 53 more runs to overhaul Gavaskar’s mark for the most runs scored by an India batsman in a Test series of 774 — set by the “Little Master” against the West Indies in 1971.The 25-year-old Gill struck several elegant trademark drives and rarely looked in trouble, despite the overcast, bowler-friendly conditions that favoured England’s quicks.But on 21 he pushed the ball into the offside and set off for a single that was never on, with fast bowler Gus Atkinson, following through, throwing down the stumps at the striker’s end.Gill, halfway down the pitch, slipped as he tried to turn back to safety.The skipper could yet break Gavaskar’s record should India have a second innings. Sai Sudharsan was 28 not out when the rain came again, with Josh Tongue and Jamie Overton — two of England’s three recalled quicks along with Atkinson — too often wayward.Earlier, England took two wickets after Ollie Pope, leading the hosts in place of injured captain Ben Stokes, won the toss on his Surrey home ground.It was not long before Atkinson, a Surrey team-mate of Pope and one of four changes to the England team following last week’s drawn third Test at Old Trafford, had opener Yashasvi Jaiswal lbw for two on review.Veteran seamer Chris Woakes then had opener KL Rahul, who has scored more than 500 runs the series, playing on for 14 trying to cut a ball that was too close to him.A schedule of five Tests in less than seven weeks has taken its toll, with both England and India making four changes to their teams at the Oval.India left out paceman Jasprit Bumrah, who hurt his back earlier this year.Team bosses had previously announced the world’s top-ranked Test bowler would only feature in three games during the current series — a figure he reached in Manchester.

When Mohammad Hanif heard Qatar was opening jobs to Afghans, he joined thousands of others to put his name down for a shot to make a living in the gas-rich emirate, his own country wracked by unemployment.The Taliban authorities announced a deal with Gulf state this month to recruit 3,100 workers from Afghanistan, who started applying on Tuesday at centres across the country.By Wednesday, more than 8,500 people had put their names down from the capital Kabul and surrounding provinces, labour ministry spokesman Samiullah Ibrahimi told AFP, and more than 15,500 people are expected to register nationwide.The Taliban government says the jobs will help fight steep unemployment and poverty in the country of around 48 million people, facing what the United Nations says is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. “Our country has many problems, most people are poor and work odd jobs,” said Hanif, who travelled to western Herat from neighbouring Badghis to register. “I have skills in car mechanics and cooking, and I have certificates to prove it,” said the 35-year-old, adding he was grateful to Qatar for employing Afghans.  Competition is steep, however, with centres swarmed by hopeful applicants ready to present the required passports, identification cards and professional certificates to nab roles ranging from bus driver to cleaner, cook, mechanic and electrician. More than 1,000 people have applied in southern Kandahar for around 375 positions allocated to the region, and in Herat, around 2,000 people lined up on Wednesday to try for one of a few hundred jobs, AFP journalists said. – Doha instead of Tehran -Qatar, where the Taliban opened an office during the two-decade war with US-led forces, is one of the handful of countries to have strong diplomatic ties with Afghanistan’s rulers after they swept to power in 2021. Only Russia has so far officially recognised the Taliban government.Discussions are also underway with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Turkey and Russia to set up similar deals, labour minister Abdul Manan Omari said in a statement on Tuesday. The process “will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the country’s economic situation and reduce unemployment”, said Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy prime minister for economic affairs.Nearly half of Afghanistan’s population lives in poverty, and the unemployment rate (over 13 percent) affects nearly a quarter of young people aged 15 to 29, according to the World Bank. Those who do have work often support large, extended families on stretched salaries.High unemployment has been driven by infrastructure hamstrung by 40 years of conflict, drought impacting the crucial agriculture sector and the recent mass removals of Afghans from neighbouring countries, said Noorullah Fadwi, head of an association of job search companies.  This year, nearly two million Afghans have returned to their country after being driven out or deported from Iran and Pakistan, where many had lived for decades. “We are grateful to Qatar and ask other (Arab) countries to hire Afghan workers too, because the situation in Iran and Pakistan is very bad,” said 39-year-old Noor Mohammad, who registered in Herat, hoping for a hotel job.- ‘There is nothing’ -The Taliban authorities have not yet detailed how the Afghan recruits will be housed or their potential working conditions, while pledging to safeguard their rights.Qatar, where foreigners make up nearly 90 percent of the three million-strong population, has faced heavy criticism over the treatment of migrant labourers, particularly during construction leading up to hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Qatar has since introduced major reforms to improve workers’ safety and punish employers who violate the rules.It has dismantled its “kafala” labour system, which gave employers powerful rights over whether workers could leave their jobs or even the country.Mohammad Qasim, 37, said he would not go to Qatar if he could find a job in Afghanistan, but he earned a university degree in education four years ago and has been unemployed ever since.”I tried very hard to find work but there is nothing,” he told AFP, saying he applied to be a cleaner at a centre in Kandahar.At least in Qatar, he said, “I will earn something.”

The opposition leader in Pakistan’s parliament was among more than 100 people convicted Thursday over nationwide protests in support of Imran Khan in 2023, his party said. A statement from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) said six members of parliament, a senator, and a provincial MP, were given 10-year sentences, a week after several others were also convicted. Among them was Omar Ayub Khan, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, who did not attend the protests.He was convicted at an anti-terrorism court in the eastern city of Faisalabad of abetting violence and conspiring to incite riots and arson.”We are going to challenge this in the upper court,” PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan told reporters. “Such verdicts are bad for democracy and the country altogether.”The party officials have been on bail during the trial and have not yet been taken to jail.Nationwide protests that targeted sensitive military installations erupted on May 9 when Khan was briefly arrested in the capital, Islamabad.Khan, who was prime minister between 2018 and 2022, has been in jail for nearly two years on charges he says are politically motivated. His supporters and senior party leaders have also faced a severe crackdown, with thousands rounded up and Khan’s name censored from television.Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, the London-based spokesman for PTI said the latest sentences were “a black day for demoracy”.”Convicting opposition leaders one after another is not a good omen for any democratic system, and it will seriously damage our already fragile democracy,” he said.

An Indian court on Thursday acquitted a firebrand Hindu nationalist nun and former lawmaker, and six others accused of participating in a deadly bombing near a mosque in 2008.The attack killed six people and wounded more than 100 others when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded close to the mosque in Malegaon in the western state of Maharashtra.Seven people were tried on terrorism and criminal conspiracy charges, including former MP from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, in a case that dragged on for years.The prosecution claimed Thakur’s motorbike was used to carry the explosives used in the attack, and that she took part in a key planning meeting before it was staged.However, Judge AK Lahoti ruled Thursday that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence against Thakur and the six others.”Judgements cannot be based on morals and public perception,” Lahoti said, according to Indian legal website Live Law.Defence lawyer Ranjit Nair said the judge noted that the prosecution could not “present any proof against the accused”.Indian parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi called the verdict “disappointing”, saying those killed were “targeted for their religion”.”A deliberately shoddy investigation/prosecution is responsible for the acquittal,” he said in a post on X. Islam is a minority religion in Hindu-majority India, the world’s most populous country.During the trial, India’s counter-terrorism unit said the 2008 bombing was orchestrated to incite communal tensions, local media reported. Thakur, 55, spent nine years in jail before she was given bail in 2017.She later won an election after being fielded by the BJP to run for a seat in the central city of Bhopal.Indian election rules allow anyone to stand for office as long as they have not been convicted of a crime.Thakur courted controversy when she called the radical Hindu assassin of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi a “patriot” — earning her a rebuke from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.She also raised eyebrows for claiming that drinking cow urine had helped cure her cancer and extolling the benefits of drinking a concoction of milk, butter and cow dung.