Ahmedabad 2008 Serial Blast Verdict Announced: 49 Guilty and 28 Innocent

The verdict in the 2008 serial blast case in Ahmedabad has been announced. The court found 49 of the 78 accused guilty under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). The court has decided to sentence all the convicts at 10.30 am tomorrow. 

The convicts will be produced in court on February 9 at 10.30 am. All have been convicted under sections 302 and 120. The accused were present today through a video conference. The accused who helped in the investigation have been released. Under section 302 the accused will be punished for life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Sector-1 JCP RV Asari, who was part of the probe team in the 2008 serial blast case in Ahmedabad, said the probe teams worked hard under the leadership and guidance of Ashish Bhatia and Abhay Chudasama, who has a very strong network. From constable to superior officers all worked hard day and night, resulting into a historic verdict today.  From the beginning, the smallest link in the investigation has been added which has been a success today after many years.

There were 21 bomb blasts in 20 areas in Ahmedabad city on July 26, 2008, killing 56 people and injuring more than 200. In the case of the bomb blast, 20 FIRs were registered in Ahmedabad and 15 in Surat. A total of 99 terrorists were indicted in the case in the preliminary investigation. Of those, 82 terrorists were arrested, while eight accused are not arrested. In this case, the testimony of 1,163 witnesses has been taken, while 1,237 witnesses have been dropped by the government.

A total of 77 accused in the Ahmedabad serial blast case are lodged in various jails in seven states of the country. There are 49 accused in Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad, 10 in Bhopal Jail in Madhya Pradesh, 4 in Taloja Jail in Mumbai in Maharashtra, 5 in Bengaluru Jail in Karnataka, 6 in Kerala Jail, 2 in Jaipur Jail, and 1 in Delhi Jail.