2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case verdict: 38 awarded death penalty, 11 sentenced to life imprisonment until death
A Special court awarded death sentence to 38 out of 49 convicts in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case on Friday. The 11 other convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment until death.
The court had on February 8 convicted 49 people in the serial blasts case which had claimed 56 lives and left over 200 injured. Special judge AR Patel acquitted 28 accused.
In a gruesome terror attack on July 26, 2008, around 20 bomb blasts had taken place across Ahmedabad within a span of 70 minutes.
The prosecution on February 14 concluded the arguments on the quantum of sentence for the 49 convicts.
The court had convicted the 49 accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosive Substances Act and Damage to Public Property Act. The Sections involved Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 121 (a) (conspiracy to wage war or attempt to wage war against the nation) and 124 (a) (sedition) and Section 16(1)(a)(b) of the UAPA pertaining to terrorist acts.
The Gujarat Police had claimed that the terror attack was carried out by people associated with Indian Mujahideen (IM), a faction of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The police had claimed that the serial blasts were an act of revenge for the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
Following the serial blasts, the Indian Mujahideen had sent emails to media outlets claiming responsibility for the terror attacks.
Notably, days after the serial blasts in Ahmedabad, the police had recovered more bombs from different parts of Surat.
