Guwahati: A special court on Friday constituted for the swift trial of the 2008 serial bomb bombings in Ahmedabad convicted 38 of the 49 prisoners to death under the rules of UAPA and IPC 302. The 11 others were condemned to live in jail without the possibility of parole.
Special Judge AR Patel, who delivered the verdict, granted Rs 1 lakh in compensation to individuals who were killed in the blasts.
On February 8, the Special Judge found 49 of the 78 defendants guilty of numerous Indian Penal Code offences, including murder, sedition, and waging war against the state, as well as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substance Act. One of the defendants was also convicted of violating the Arms Act.
The judge had already ended a hearing on the issue of punishment quantum, with the defence providing arguments on mitigating circumstances, seeking minimum punishment, and the prosecution presenting arguments on aggravating circumstances, seeking maximum punishment, that is death sentence.
It may be mentioned that 22 bombs exploded in Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, killing 56 people and injuring 200 others at various locations including the state government-run civil hospital, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, buses, parked bicycles, automobiles, and other places. One bomb apiece at Kalol and Naroda failed to detonate.
The Indian Mujahideen (IM), an organisation that had never been heard of before, claimed responsibility for the attacks in emails sent to several media outlets.
One of the 78 defendants on trial, Ayaz Saiyed, who later became an approver in the case, was accused of planting bombs in bicycles and an AMTS bus in Ahmedabad’s Naroda neighbourhood, with the bus exploding near Sarkhej.