A special court in Gujarat on Friday sentenced 38 of the 49 people convicted in the 2008 Ahmedabad bombings to death. The remaining 11 offenders were sentenced to life imprisonment, ANI news agency reported.

Among those sentenced to death, the main accused was Safdar Nagori, former secretary general of the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Some of the other offenders are Imran Ibrahim Sheikh, Iqbal Qasam Sheikh, Shamsuddin Shaikh, Gyasuddin Ansari, Javed Ahmed Shaikh, Md​​ Usman Agarbattiwala and Ziaur Ra​​hman.

The offenders attended the trial by videoconference from prisons in Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Gaya, Bengaluru and other parts of the country. The offender was punished by Special Judge AR Patel.

On February 8, a court convicted them of a series of bombings in the city on July 26, 2008, that killed 56 people and injured more than 200. As many as 28 other defendants were acquitted in the case as a result of the court’s decision to grant them the benefit of the doubt.

2008 Ahmedabad bombings | A special court sentenced 38 of 49 criminals to death pic.twitter.com/CtcEWGze2z

All 49 were convicted under Section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which deals with terrorism, and IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

They were also convicted under IPC Sections 307 (attempted murder), 121-A (conspiracy to wage war or attempted war against the state) and 124-A (incitement) as well as the Explosives Act and the Damage to Public Property Act.

On July 26, 2008, within 70 minutes, as many as 20 bombs were detonated in different areas of Ahmedabad. Islamic terror group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami claims responsibility for attack

Police have said members of the Indian Jihad (IM) terror group were involved in the bombing. Police say IM terrorists planned the bombing in retaliation for the 2002 Godra riots.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times