In a major decision, a special court in Gujarat on Friday sentenced 38 convicts to death and 11 others to life imprisonment in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case.
For the unversed, as many as 56 people were killed and 246 others wounded after 20 blasts ripped through the city on July 26, 2008.
As per reports, the special court sentenced 49 people and acquitted 28 others in connection with the blasts last week.
All the accused attended the hearing virtually today while the verdicts were pronounced. The death sentences will need to be confirmed by the Gujarat High Court. The court also slapped a fine of Rs 2.85 lakh each on the 48 convicts.
Judge A R Patel also allotted compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to the family of those killed in the blasts, Rs 50,000 for each victim with major injuries and Rs 25,000 each for those with minor ones.
They were convicted under sections 302, 307, 121 (a) and 124 (a) among others of the IPC, and 16 (1) (a)(b) of the UAPA related to punishment for a terrorist act.