38 get death, 11 life term in 2008 Ahd serial blasts case

Highest No. Of Death Penalties In 1 Case In India

Ahmedabad: A total of 38 men were sentenced to death and 11 more will spend the rest of their lives in prison for the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts, a special judge pronounced on Friday in an unprecedented judgment in the country that handed the death penalty to the highest number of convicts at one go in a single case. As many as 56 people were killed and 246 wounded when 20 explosions ripped through the city on July 26, nearly 14 years ago.

Special judge AR Patel gave his order that ran into more than 7,000 pages against the 49 convicts from eight different states for the specific offence of plotting a criminal conspiracy for mass killings to avenge the 2002 Gujarat riots and it was found during investigation that one of their targets was PM Narendra Modi, then chief minister of the state.

They were also sentenced for waging war against the nation, sedition, murder and provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Explosive Substances Act among 29 other offences. They were held guilty for planting 15 bombs in Surat as well.