Ahmedabad: 14 years after the serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad that claimed 56 innocent lives and over 200 injured, a special court in Ahmedabad has convicted 49 accused and 28 acquitted. A day later, on July 27, 2008, serial blasts were planned in Surat. 29 live bombs were recovered from different parts of the city.
An SIT was formed by the Gujarat government and accused Tanveer Pathan and Jahir Patel, both members of SIMI terror group, were arrested. Both were responsible for bringing two explosive-laden cars, stolen from Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra to Surat city. The mastermind behind the blasts was SIMI leader Abu Bashir.
The special court concluded the trial against 77 accused in September last year. The lengthy trial that began in December 2009 saw 1,100 witnesses getting examined by the prosecution.
The terrorists had allegedly planned these explosions as revenge for the 2002 Godhra riots.
The SIT had earlier arrested 85 people over a period of time, however, the trial started against only 78 persons. The number of accused came down to 77. One of the accused turned an approver during the trial. All accused were slapped with charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and have also been booked under relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The verdict is likely to be pronounced on Tuesday as special judge AR Patel, who presided over the trial court, has resumed work after recovering from COVID-19.
At least 56 people were killed and over 200 were injured in 21 bomb blasts that had hit Ahmedabad within a span of 70 minutes on July 26, 2008. Blast inside Ahmedabad Civil hospital had claimed maximum innocent lives.
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