38 sentenced to death in India for 2008 attacks that left 55 dead
New Delhi, Feb 18 (EFE) – A special court in India on Friday sentenced to death 38 of the 49 implicated in the 2008 attacks on the western city of Ahmedabad that left some 55 people dead and around 200 wounded.
“Today, the honorable, designated judge for bomb blast cases has sentenced a total of 38 accused to death (by hanging) and sentenced 11 accused to life imprisonment,” special prosecutor Amit Patel told the media.
The judges also ordered a compensation amounting to 100,000 rupees ($1,337) for the relatives of the deceased, 50,000 for those severely wounded, and Rs 25,000 for those less severely wounded.
Although more than 70 people were initially charged, last week the court had acquitted 28 defendants, and found the 49 others guilty, who were finally sentenced Friday concluding a trial that has gone on for more than 13 years.
On Jul.26, 2008, Ahmedabad – India’s seventh most populated city in the western state of Gujarat – was hit by a series of over 20 blasts in different places, including a hospital, within a span of 70 minutes, causing the death of 55 people and injuring some 200.
Three weeks later, the police claimed to have arrested the mastermind of the attack, Mufti Abu Bashir, a member of the now banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), along with nine others more than 900 kilometers from the scene of the incident, in the northern city of Lucknow.
Although the attack was claimed by the “Indian Mujahideen” group, the authorities claimed that SIMI was “connected” to the organization.
In the same year, terror attacks had previously hit other cities in India such as Jaipur and Bangalore, and the delay in finding the perpetrators of the attacks had led to criticism of the efforts of the security forces by the people. EFE
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