49 convicted in Ahmedabad blasts case

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New Delhi/Ahmedabad, Feb 8

More than 13 years after 56 persons were killed and 240 injured in 21 blasts that rocked Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, a special court on Tuesday convicted 49 accused, including Safdar Nagori, Javed Ahmed and Atikur Rehman.

Ahmedabad Special Judge AR Patel acquitted 28 other accused, including Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Ahmad and Shakeel Ahmed, giving them the benefit of doubt.

The court would commence hearing to decide the quantum of sentence for the convicts on Wednesday.

The trial against the 77 accused was concluded in September 2021. The prosecution had termed it as an act of terrorism. It had filed 547 chargesheets and examined 1,163 witnesses during the protracted trial.

The 49 accused were convicted under Section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which deals with terrorism and other provisions of the stringent act as well as IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy), special public prosecutor Amit Patel told mediapersons. “All accused attended the court proceedings on Tuesday through video-conferencing from different jails. They will also remain present virtually during the hearing on the quantum of sentence,” Patel said.