Parsa, May 28 -- The Janakpur High Court on Wednesday acquitted former Nepali Congress lawmaker and minister Mohammad Aftab Alam in connection with the 2008 Rautahat blast and subsequent killings, overturning a life sentence handed down by the Rautahat District Court in April 2024.

A division bench of Justices Khusi Prasad Tharu and Arjun Maharjan at the court's temporary bench in Birgunj overturned the earlier verdict, stating that the evidence presented was insufficient to uphold the convictions. The court ordered Alam's immediate release from custody.

Alam, along with his brother Mohammad Mahatab Alam and two others-Shekh Saraj and Badri Sahani-had been convicted by the Rautahat District Court on charges of orchestrating a deadly exp...