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A court in Gujarat has sentenced 38 people to death in the Ahmedabad serial blasts that killed 56 people in 2008.
The court on Friday sentenced 38 of the 49 convicts to death under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The 11 others were sentenced to life in jail till death.
BCCL
Judge A R Patel also awarded compensation of Rs one lakh each to those killed in the blasts, and Rs 50,000 for each victim with serious injuries and Rs 25,000 each for those with minor ones. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.85 lakh each on the 48 convicts.
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What the court said
Justice Patel had on February 8 declared 49 of the total 78 accused as guilty under various offences of the Indian Penal Code, including for murder, sedition and waging war against the state, as well as under offences of the UAPA and Explosive Substances Act.
AFP
What happened in 2008
Bombs went off in Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, at various spots including the state government-run civil hospital, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, on buses, parked bicycles, in cars and other places, killing 56 persons.
Within a span of 70 minutes as many as 21 bomb blasts had taken place in Ahmedabad on that day.
Pakistan-based Islamic terror group, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, had claimed responsibility for the attacks.
AFP
The Indian Mujahideen had also claimed responsibility for the blasts.
In an email to media houses just before the blasts, the Indian Mujahideen had said “Await 5 minutes for the revenge of Gujarat“, suggesting that it was in retaliation to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The blasts occurred a day after a similar incident in Bengaluru.
It was the first time that so many accused have received death sentences in a single case in India. The sentence must be confirmed by the high court.
BCCL
A defence lawyer said they would appeal the verdict in a higher court.
“We had sought lenient sentences for the convicts as they have already spent more than 13 years in prison,” Khalid Shaikh told Reuters news agency. “But the court awarded death to the majority of them. We will definitely go for appeal.”
The marathon trial lasted nearly a decade, with more than 1,100 witnesses called to testify. It was dragged out by procedural delays, including a legal battle by four of the accused to retract confessions.
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