AMN /
Five of 12 convicts in the July 2006 serial Mumbai train blasts were awarded death sentence by a special MCOCA court in Mumbai today, while the remaining 7 have been given life sentence. The prosecution had demanded death for 8 of the 12 convicts and life imprisonment for four. Nine years ago the serial bomb blasts that hit Mumbai suburban trains had killed 189 people and injured 800 others.
On September 11, the court had convicted 12 of the 13 accused, all allegedly having links with the banned SIMI, while acquitting one. Special Judge Yatin D Shinde had last week concluded hearing arguments on the quantum of sentence. On September 23, the Special MCOCA court had reserved its order on sentencing in the case for today.
The accused were found guilty of charges under IPC, Explosives Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Indian Railway Act and those under MCOCA. The court also found all the 12 accused guilty under Section 3 (1) (i) of MCOCA.
However, Defence lawyers after subsequently examining nine witnesses told the court that the accused had undergone reformation and thus may not be given any capital punishment.
The police say 15 people accused in what came to be called the 7/11 bombings are still missing, among them the masterminds of the terror plot. In their chargesheet, the police named Pakistani nationals and members of the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Arguing against the convicts’ plea for leniency because of their background and education, the prosecutor had said: “Yakub Memon was a chartered accountant with impeccable antecedents but even he was not shown mercy. Why should this case be any different?” Yakub Memon was hanged on July 30, for his role in the 1993 serial blasts case.
The Supreme Court had stayed trial in the case in 2008 as it heard a petition by the accused, who had challenged the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act or MCOCA under which they were charged.