AHMEDABAD: A special court in Gujarat pronounced its judgment on the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts that claimed 56 lives. The court acquitted 28 of the 77 accused, while 49 were convicted. The sentence will be pronounced on Wednesday.
Those convicted include Safdar Nagori, Javed Ahmed and Atikur Rehman. All 49 were convicted under Section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which deals with terrorism, as well as IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).
Special public prosecutor Amit Patel said 547 charge sheets were filed and 1,163 witnesses examined during the trial. “The court acquitted 28 accused, giving them the benefit of doubt,” he said. Among those acquitted are Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Ahmad and Shakeel Ahmed. All the accused attended the hearing through video conferencing from different jails.
The court had concluded the trial last September. The court had set February 1 as the date for the judgment, but the matter was deferred to February 8 after the judge fell ill. The police had claimed that persons associated with the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen were involved in the blasts.
Days after the blasts, police had recovered bombs from different parts of Surat, after which 20 FIRs were registered in Ahmedabad and 15 in Surat. The trial in the case began in December 2009 against 78 people. The number of convicts came down to 77 after one turned approver. Four more were arrested later, but their trial has not yet commenced, a senior government lawyer said.