38 Sentenced Capital Punishment and 11 Lifetime Imprisonment in 2008 Ahmedabad Serial Bomb Blasts

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Feb 18, 2022: Special Trial Court, Ahmedabad on 18 February 2022, Friday sentenced 38 convicted with Capital Punishment which is the first time in India and awarded lifetime imprisonment till death to 11 others in the 2008 Ahmedabad Serial Bombing Attack under various Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Arms Act.
26 July 2008, the cultural and commercial epicenter of the Gujarat state, Ahmedabad was rocked by 22 serial bomb blasts that trembled the entire security system of the main financial city of the western India. The bomb blasts simultaneously occurred within a span of 70 minutes in several places including a State Government run civil hospital, a Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation run LG Hospital inside buses, in bikes and bicycles killing as many as 56 people and injuring over 200 people. It was allegedly assumed Indian Mujahideen terror outfit was behind it but later on Pakistani fundamentalist militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami claimed responsibility of the attacks. Mufti Abu Bashir, the suspected mastermind was arrested by the Gujarat Police later on, along with mine others linked with the bombings. About 50 terrorist associates, and many other absconders were arrested and 511 potential witnesses were listed in the 2,000 pages charge-sheet produced by the Police after 105days of the attack on November 09, 2008.
A compensation of 1 lakh rupees have been awarded to the family of the deceased in the blasts by the court today. Rs 50,000 to the severely wounded victims and Rs 25,000 for the minutely wounded ones, announced under the Special Court Judge A.R Patel.
On 08 February 2022, the Special Court found 49 accused guilty for their direct involvement in carrying off the blasts while 28 people were given Benefit of the Doubt.
As per the Court’s order the, punishments awarded to each of the convicted under various acts like UAPA, IPC, ARMS ACTS, the Explosive Substance Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act will run synchronously.
To be more precise, the convicted ones are charged under IPC Section 302 ( Intentional Murder), Section 307 (Attempt to Murder), Section 121(a) (Conspiracy to Wage War or Attempt to Wage War Against The Nation), Section 124 (a) (Sedition) and Section 16(1)(a)(b) of the Unlawful Activities (Preventions) Act (UAPA) for practicing ‘Terrorist Activities.

Tania Ghosh 

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