Agencies
A Special designated court in Ahmedabad has awarded death penalty to 38 convicts in 2008 Ahmedabad Serial bomb blast case which claimed 54 lives and injured more than 200 people. Pronouncing the quantum of punishment today in the rarest of the rare case, the Special judge A.R. Patel has sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment till the death.
The punishment was awarded under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Explosive Substances Act and the Damage to Public Property Act. The Special Court has also ordered the compensation for the family of victims.
The court has ordered one lakh rupees compensation to the families of the victims, while the compensation of 50 thousand rupees to the seriously injured persons in this serial bomb blast case. This is for the first time in the country, in which the maximum 38 convicts have been awarded death penalties.
Earlier, the special court had heard defense counsel and prosecution sides on 11th and 14th February. The special court had deferred the pronouncement of the quantum of punishment and asked the defense counsel to produce all the documents related to convicts in the court.
The court had convicted 49 persons in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blast case, which had claimed 56 lives and left more than 200 injured. In his verdict on 8th of this month, the special judge A.R. Patel acquitted the other 28 accused, giving them the benefit of doubt.
The 49 accused were convicted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Explosive Substances Act and the Damage to Public Property Act.
The conviction and punishment in Ahmedabad serial blast case are the result of a solid investigation by Gujarat police. Gujarat police had not only solved the entire conspiracy, but also broke the nexus of anti-national organizations in the country during the long investigation.
There were a series of bomb explosions in Ahmedabad on 26th July in 2008, which resulted in death of 56 persons and injuries to more than 200 persons. The explosions were caused at crowded public places including two hospitals to cause terror among the public.
A total of twenty-three blasts took place in Ahmedabad on that day during the span of just ninety minutes. Prior to the serial blasts, television channels and media had received an email purportedly from an outfit called as-Indian Mujahideen warning that such a series of blasts would occur. Thereafter, alert police had also recovered 29 live bombs from various parts of Surat city.