Lagatar24 Desk
Ahmedabad, Feb 18: A special court in Gujarat on Friday sentenced 38 of 49 convicts to death in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case. Eleven others were given life imprisonment until death.
This is the highest number of convicts to be sentenced to death in a single case in India’s legal history. The 38 defendants were sentenced under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (murder), as well as Sections 10 and 16 (1) (a) (b) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Each of the 38 convicts was also fined Rs 25,000 for each of the three offences.
Under IPC Section 302 and UAPA Sections 10 and 16 (1) (a) (b), the 11 others were sentenced to life in prison. They were also fined with an amount of Rs 25,000.
Apart from the aforementioned provisions, all 49 convicted were also sentenced to life imprisonment under four provisions of the law, UAPA Section 20, Explosive Substances Act section 3 and IPC sections 124 A (sedition), 121 A(criminal conspiracy), and 121 A (criminal negligence) (waging war against the state).
All of the sentences, however, must run at the same time. Meanwhile, the court also pardoned one accused, who turned an approver.
Mohammad Usman Agarbattiwala of Vadodara, who was the sole one found guilty under the Arms Act’s Section 25(1)(B) (a), was sentenced to a year in prison under the provision.
In addition to punishing the 49 convicted, the court ordered that compensation to be paid to the victims from the fines collected from the defendants. The court of special judge A R Patel ordered that the 56 victims who died be compensated with Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 for those who sustained major injuries, and Rs 25,000 for those who had lesser injuries.
Each of the 48 defendants has to pay a fine of Rs 2.85 lakh, with Agarbattiwala has to pay a fine of Rs 2.88 lakh.
Ahmedabad serial blasts were a huge challenge to Gujarat Police, but our technical network & human intelligence was very strong… Around 350 police officials were a part of the probe, with continuous guidance of the govt: RV Asari, Joint Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad pic.twitter.com/fDXGoIIXMi
— ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2022
