Nagpur: A special court in Gujarat pronounced death sentence to 38 out of 49 convicts in 2008 Ahmedabad bomb blast case. 11 other accused were given life imprisonment.
Death sentence to the convicts has been awarded under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Special judge A R Patel also awarded compensation of Rs 1lakh to the kin of the deceased in the blasts.
Last week, the special court had pronounced 49 guilty of the crime while 28 others were acquitted. On July 26, 2008, around 19 bombs rocked around the city in a span of 70 minutes which ended up killing 56 people and injuring more than 200 people. Out of the 28 acquitted, 27 of them have spent nearly 13 years in jail.
For the first time in a terrorist strike in India, hospitals were targeted. 37 people lost their lives in the blast which took place at the Civil Hospital. As per various reports, the blast was carried out to seek revenge for the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat.
