2008 Ahmedabad Serial Blasts Case: Gujarat Court Awards Death Sentence To 38 Convicts, 11 Others Get Life Term

Ahmedabad, Feb 18 (PTI) A special court here on Friday awarded death sentence to 38 convicts in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case, which had claimed 56 lives and left over 200 injured.

Special court judge A R Patel also sentenced 11 other convicts in the case to life imprisonment till their death.

On February 8, the court had convicted 49 accused and acquitted 28 others in the case.

As many as 20 explosions had ripped through the city on July 26, 2008.

The court had concluded the trial against 77 accused in September last year. Out of the 78 accused on trial, one had turned approver.

The court sentenced 38 of the 49 convicts to death under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The 11 others were sentenced to life in jail till death.

Judge A R Patel also awarded compensation of Rs one lakh each to those killed in the blasts, and Rs 50,000 for each victim with serious injuries and Rs 25,000 each for those with minor ones.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.85 lakh each on the 48 convicts.

Judge Patel had on February 8 declared 49 of the total 78 accused as guilty under various offences of the Indian Penal Code, including for murder, sedition and waging war against the state, as well as under offences of the UAPA and Explosive Substances Act.

Bombs went off in Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, at various spots including the state government-run civil hospital, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, on buses, parked bicycles, in cars and other places, killing 56 persons.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)