NE NEWS SERVICE

AHMEDABAD, FEB 18

A special court in Ahmedabad on Friday awarded the death penalty to 38 of 49 convicts in the 2008 serial blasts case. The remaining 11 were awarded life imprisonment.

The court of special judge A.R. Patel had delivered its verdict on February 8 convicted them for the serial blasts of July 26, 2008, in the city which had claimed 56 lives and left over 200 persons injured.

Statements of over 1,100 witnesses were taken in the case. The accused had been lodged in various jails in the country.

The trial began in December 2009 against 78 people connected to the banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen. The number of accused later came down to 77, after one of them turned approver.

Those convicted included Safdar Nagori, Javed Ahmed and Atikur Rehman. All were convicted under section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act which deals with terrorism, as well as IPC sections 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy). They were also convicted under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 121-A (conspiracy to wage war or attempt to wage war against the nation) and 124-A (sedition) as well as Explosive Substances Act and Damage to Public Property Act.

In the verdict, which came 13 years after the deadly blasts, special judge AR Patel also acquitted 28 other accused, giving them the benefit of doubt.

As many as 56 people were killed and 246 injured after 20 bombs went off in different areas of Ahmedabad within a span of 70 minutes on July 26, 2008. The police had claimed that members of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) were involved in the blasts, adding that they planned these blasts as revenge for the 2002 post-Godhra riots.