AHMADABAD /
Ahmedabad special court today awarded life imprisonment to 11 persons, who were held guilty of murder in the Gulbarg society massacre case. Pronouncing the quantum of sentence, the court also awarded 7 years’ imprisonment to 12 persons and 10 years’ imprisonment to one convict.
The special trial court delivered its verdict on the quantum of sentence to 24 convicts, whom it had found guilty on 2nd June. Ruling out the capital punishment to any of the convicts, the court said that the accused posed no danger to the society.
The Special court in Ahmedabad had earlier announced that it would pronounce the quantum of sentence on 17th June. Earlier, the trial court judge P.B. Desai concluded hearing on sentence by the prosecution agency- Special Investigation Team and lawyers representing victims as well as the convicts.
The prosecution demanded exemplary punishment to the convicts terming the carnage a case of mass murder in which 69 people belonging to the minority community were burnt alive. The massacre occurred on 28th February 2002 in Gulbarg society of Ahmedabad after the Godhra train carnage.
The court delivered its verdict more than 14 years after the massacre. The court found 11 persons guilty of murder while remaining 13 was convicted for charges such as arson and rioting. 36 accused in this case had been acquitted by the court.
All the sentences will run concurrently as the Supreme Court has laid it down clearly that if the crime had single purpose, sentences given for different sections of IPC should run concurrently, the court said.