2008 Ahmedabad Serial Bomb Blast case: Death sentence given to 38 out of 49 convicts

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A special court in Ahmedabad, on February 18, pronounced death sentence to 38 out of 49 convicts in the case related to the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts that had claimed 56 lives. Of the remaining 11 convicts, the court has ordered a life sentence imprisonment.

Within 70 minutes, a series of coordinated bomb blasts killed 56 people and left more than 200 injured in Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008.

The special court, on February 8, convicted 49 people and acquitted 28 others.

The accused were convicted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosive Substances Act and the Damage to Public Property Act. One accused was also convicted under the Arms Act.

They were convicted under sections 302 (Punishment for murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 121 (a) (conspiracy to wage war or attempt to wage war against the nation) and 124 (a) (sedition) among others of the IPC, and 16(1)(a)(b) of the UAPA related to punishment for a terrorist act.

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The court had concluded the trial against the 77 accused in September last year. Out of the 78 accused put on trial, one had turned approver.

The police had claimed that the people associated with the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM), a faction of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), were involved in the blasts.

According to the prosecution, Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists had planned the bomb blasts to avenge the 2002 post-Godhra communal riots in Gujarat.

Days after the serial blasts ripped through Ahmedabad, the police recovered bombs from different parts of Surat, following which 20 FIRs were registered in Ahmedabad and 15 in Surat.

The trial was conducted after the court merged all 35 FIRs.

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Out of the 49 convicts, 32 are currently lodged in the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad, four in a jail in Bengaluru, seven in Bhopal, three in Taloja, two in Jaipur, and one at Gaya.

Capital punishment is not very common in India. In the last 20 years, only 17 people have been executed. However, it is worth noting that, due to the lack of official numbers, exact figures vary from one report to another.

In 2020, it was the first time that four convicts were hanged together on the same platform.