MUMBAI:Nine years after serial bomb blasts ripped through suburban trains killing 189 people, a special court on Wednesday sentenced to death five convicts and gave a life term to seven others, all having links with the banned terror outfit SIMI. The court also slapped a hefty fine of Rs 1.51 crore on the convicts, directing each one to pay over Rs 11 lakh.
Hope I Live to See Execution of Verdict While 5 convicts get death sentence for their role in the Mumbai blasts that left 189 people dead in 2006, a victim’s dad shares his agony. |
Imposing a death penalty on five convicts, Judge Yatin D Shinde wrote in his order, “They shall be hanged by their neck till they are dead.” All the convicts stood with a blank face and heard the verdict as the Judge handed down the quantum of sentence.
The five convicts who got capital punishment were Kamal Ahamed Ansari (37), Mohd Faisal Shaikh (36) Ehtesham Siddiqui (30), Naveed Hussain Khan (30) and Asif Khan (38).
They were held guilty under section 302 IPC (murder) and section 3(1)(i) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. The seven convicts facing a life term are Tanvir Ahmed Ansari (37), Mohammad Majid Shafi (32), Shaikh Alam Shaikh (41), Mohd Sajid Ansari (34), Muzzammil Shaikh (27), Soheil Mehmood Shaikh (43) and Zamir Ahmad Shaikh (36).
The judge handed over life sentences to the seven convicts under the provisions of IPC, Explosives Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Indian Railways Act and MCOCA. The maximum fine of Rs 15.45 lakhs was imposed on Mohammed Faisal.
Outside the court, some of the convicts told reporters that they were dejected with the verdict of the trial court and would file an appeal in the Bombay High Court. Naved, who was given a death sentence, said, “I knew what was coming but I am hopeful that my innocence would be proved in the higher courts.” Other death convicts Ehtesham and Asif too claimed that they were innocent and had been falsely implicated.
The serial blasts in seven Mumbai local trains on July 11, 2006 left 189 dead and 829 injured within a span of 10 minutes between Khar Road-Santacruz, Bandra-Khar Road, Jogeshwari-Mahim Junction, Mira Road-Bhayander, Matunga-Mahim Junction and Borivali. RDX bombs had exploded in the first class coaches of local trains during evening peak hours. The chargesheet of the Anti-Terrorism Squad said that Improvised Explosive Devices were made in a room in suburban Govandi where some Pakistani nationals were also present. However, all of them are still absconding.
After the verdict, the defence lawyers said the judgment was a ‘miscarriage of justice’ and they would challenge it in the Bombay High Court. “There is absolutely no evidence against them, the boys are innocent. This case is not even fit for conviction,” said senior advocate Dr Yug Mohit Chaudhry. Other lawyers Sherif Sheikh and Khan Abdul Wahab said they were not happy with the verdict.
“The case was clear as a mirror and even a layman could say that it was a framed up case,” Wahab said. Sheikh said the ATS had presented a concocted case. “I am cent per cent sure that they (the convicts) will be acquitted by the higher courts,” he said.
Convicts’ kin to file an appeal
The kin of the convicts on Wednesday said they would challenge the verdict in the high court. “There have been cases, where the lower court has given death sentence and the high court has not upheld it,” Ataur Rehman, a relative of convicts Faizal and Muzammil, said.