Ahmedabad serial blasts case: Gujarat court convicts 49 accused, acquits 28

Tribune News Service
New Delhi/Ahmedabad, February 8

More than 13 years after 56  people were killed and 240 injured in 21 blasts that rocked Ahmedabad in a span of 70 minutes 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, however, 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 charge sheets 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 Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy), special public prosecutor Amit Patel told reporters.

All the 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.

The trial commenced in December 2009 against 78 people connected to the banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM). One of them turned approver. Later, four more accused were arrested but their trial has not yet commenced.

According to the prosecution, men associated with IM— a faction of radicals of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)—planned these blasts to avenge the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

The then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the then minister of the state (Home) Amit Shah had taken a conscious decision that such terrorist acts should end not only in Gujarat but also across India.

The probe was led by the then Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch Ahmedabad City Ashish Bhatia. Days after the Ahmedabad serial blasts, the police had recovered bombs from different parts of Surat and registered 20 FIRs in Ahmedabad and 15 in Surat. The court had merged all the 35 FIRs.