A Dhaka tribunal today sentenced 17 JMB operatives to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for their involvement with the serial bomb blasts in Gazipur on August 17, 2005.

The court also fined the members of banned Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) Tk 10,000 each, in default of which they will have to suffer one more year in jail.

Judge Abdur Rahman Sardar of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 handed down the sentence in presence of 12 of the convicts. The rest five of the convicts have been tried in absentia.

On August 17, 2005, around 500 bombs went off at 300 locations in 63 out of the 64 districts of the country.

The bombs exploded in half an hour from 11:30am and JMB claimed responsibility for the blasts.

As part of their mission, the JMB operatives blasted several bombs at different parts of Joydebpur upazila, including in front of additional deputy commissioner's (tax) office.

Later, Joydebpur police filed a case against 23 JMB men including its chief Shaikh Abdur Rahmana and his brother Ataur Rahman in this connection on that day.

A chargesheet was submitted on October 12, 2005 while a supplementary chargesheet on May 25, 2006.

In 2012, a Gazipur court shifted the case to the Dhaka Speedy Tribunal Judge-4.