Ahmedabad blasts: 38 convicts deserve death sentence, says court

The 38 convicts in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case deserve the death sentence as allowing them to remain in society is akin to releasing a maneater leopard in public that consumes innocents the special court has said in its order In the judgement a copy of which was made available on Saturday the court also said that in its opinion the death sentence will be reasonable as the case falls in the rarest of the rare categoryThe special court had on Friday sentenced to death 38 members of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen IM for the Ahmedabad bombings which killed 56 people and injured over 200 on July 26 2008 The court also gave life terms to 11 other IM convicts in the case It was for the first time in the country that the maximum number of death sentences were handed down by a court in one goThe convicts created unrest in a peaceful society and carried out antinational activities while living here They have no respect for the constitutionallyelected government at the Centre and in Gujarat and a few believe only in Allah and not in the government or the judiciary special judge A R Patel said in the orderThere is no need for the government to keep the convicts in jail especially those who said they believed only in their God and none others the court said adding there is no jail in the country that can keep them lodged forever If such people are allowed to remain in the society it will be like releasing a maneater leopard in public Such convicts are like a maneater leopard that eats innocents in society including children youth elderly women men newborns and people of different caste and communities the judge said in the orderThe prosecution had sought death sentence for all the 49 convicts in the blasts case including those who hatched the conspiracy and those who planted the bombs For the people carrying out such terrorist activities death sentence is the only option for the sake of peace and safety of the country and its people the court said about the 38 convictsHanding down life sentences to 11 other convicts till the end of their natural life the court said their crime was less severe compared to the main conspiratorsThey took part in the conspiracy along with the main conspirators and took part in terror training camps in the jungles in HalolPavagadh in Gujarat and Vaghmon in Kerala on their own accord but their role in the crime does not involve death sentence the court observed But if they get anything less than imprisonment till their last breath then these convicts will again commit similar crimes and will help others is also certain it saidResponding to arguments of some convicts that they were framed because they were Muslims the court said it cannot accept this because in India there are crores of Muslims who live as lawabiding citizens Why did the investigating officers arrest only these people Others should have been arrested had they also been involved in the case The investigating officers are responsible people the court saidThe police had claimed that members of the IM a radicalised faction of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India SIMI were behind the Ahmedabad blasts which were planned to avenge the 2002 postGodhra riots in Gujarat that claimed the lives of over 1000 people most of them from the Muslim community While 38 accused were convicted by the court under the Indian Penal Code IPC Sections 302 murder and 120B criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 11 others were held guilty for criminal conspiracy and also under various sections of the UAPA the prosecution had saidThe court imposed a fine of Rs 285 lakh on 48 convicts and Rs 288 lakh on another convict It also awarded compensation of Rs one lakh to the kin of those who died in the blasts Rs 50000 to those who were seriously injured and Rs 25000 to those who received minor injuriesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever