Gujarat court acquits 10 out of the 77 accused in 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blast case

A special court in Gujarat on Tuesday acquitted 28 out of 77 accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blast case. The court convicted the remaining 49 accused.

The special court concluded the trial against 77 accused in September last year. The lengthy trial that began in December 2009 saw 1,100 witnesses getting examined by the prosecution.

As many as 21 bomb blasts rocked Ahmedabad city, within a span of 70 minutes, on July 26, 2008, killing 56 people and leaving over 200 injured.

The blasts were allegedly carried out by people associated with the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM), a faction of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

The terrorists had allegedly planned these explosions as revenge for the 2002 Godhra riots, in which several persons from the minority community had died.

The Gujarat police had earlier arrested 85 people over a period of time, however, the trial started against only 78 persons. The number of accused came down to 77, after one of the accused turned an approver during the trial.

The accused were slapped with charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and have also been booked under relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

At the time of trial, some of the accused even tried to escape by digging a 213-feet long tunnel in the jail in 2013, sources reported.