Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Ahmedabad 2008 blasts: India court sentences 38 to death

Ahmedabad serial Bomb blasts - Policemen inspect the site where two blasts took place at Civil Hospital. Charred remains of cars and bikes were cordoned off for inspection - HT Photo by Vijayanand Gupta 27.07.2008

Image source, Getty Images

A court in India has sentenced 38 people to death for their role in a series of bomb blasts in 2008 in the western state of Gujarat.

Fifty-seven people were killed and hundreds injured in the bombings, which took place in Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Gujarat.

The court in Ahmedabad also sentenced 11 other convicts to life in prison until death.

Advertisement

The accused can challenge their sentences in a higher court.

On 26 July 2008, around 20 bombs exploded in the space of an hour across residential areas, market places, public transport and hospitals in Ahmedabad. Several unexploded bombs were also found.

The Indian Mujahideen – then an unknown Islamic militant group – had claimed responsibility for the attacks in an email sent to some media outlets.

The Indian government declared the group a terrorist organisation and banned it in 2010 after it was accused of an attack on a German bakery in Pune in which 17 people were killed and scores injured.

In the Ahmedabad blasts, 78 people had faced trial – one of the accused, Ayaz Saiyed, later helped investigating agencies.

The remaining 28 have been acquitted.

The prosecution examined 1,163 witnesses over the course of the trial, according to The Indian Express.

Special Judge AR Patel also ordered to give compensation of 100,000 rupees (£982; $1,337) each to families of the victims.

In 2013, authorities had said they foiled an attempt by some of the accused to tunnel their way out of jail.

Presentational grey line

You might also be interested in:

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Presentational grey line

You May Also Like

World

For many years we have seen how the Soft Power used by the Kremlin works exclusively through culture, exhibitions, musical groups presentations, etc. It...

United States

A child’s advice for coping with anxiety has gone viral after his mother shared it on Twitter. (Hint: It involves doughnuts, dinosaurs and Dolly...

United States

As health care workers prepare to enter the third year of the pandemic, we are experiencing disillusionment and burnout on an extraordinary scale. Many...

United States

In June a statistic floated across my desk that startled me. In 2020, the number of miles Americans drove fell 13 percent because of...

Copyright © 2021 - New York Globe