Convicts Of Ahmedabad Blasts Highly Skilled, Tough Job For Investigators: Court

The convicts in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case knew how to mislead investigators and it was not easy to gather evidence against them as they are highly skilled and educated- some of them doctors, professors and computer experts- the special court noted in its verdict sentencing 38 Indian Mujahideen cadres to death and giving life terms to 11 others.

In the order- the copy of which was uploaded on the website of the special court on Saturday, a day after the verdict- special judge AR Patel stated that despite difficulties, the investigating officers collected a large amount of evidence against the accused.

The evidence, along with the surrounding circumstances, would form the basis for the judgement, the court said.

On July 26, 2008 evening, as many as 21 blasts ripped through Ahmedabad city killing 56 people and injuring over 200 within 70 minutes.

"It came to the notice of this court during the course of the proceedings over the last five years that the accused are highly skilled in every aspect- they are educated, with some of them being doctors, professors, and computer experts, and having committed crimes in other states, with cases against them going on in these states.

"The accused are such that to get information out of them to reach at the root of the crime is a highly difficult job. Despite this, investigating officers have gathered much evidence against them, which would form the basis of the judgement along with the circumstances surrounding them," the court noted.

The court also said that even before committing the crime, the accused persons had made prior plans on how to escape if caught, what kind of information to share and what to hide during the police investigation, and how to defend themselves before the court.

The judge said that looking at the number of explosions, their intensities, and the coordination with which they were carried out could easily suggest that it was part of a "premeditated conspiracy," for which planning went on for several years.

Eight of these accused were trained at a camp in Halol-Pavagadh in Gujarat's Panchmahal district. They trained others on how to take forward the activities of the banned terror outfit SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India), avenge the Central and state (Gujarat) governments and unsettle the Constitutionally-elected governments, said the court.

A majority of these accused set in motion the process to avenge the loss to life and damage to properties suffered by Muslims during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the court said.

The SIMI, which was banned in 2001, was activated. It worked between 2002 and 2008 by holding meetings in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat, it said.

They (the accused) participated in terror training camps where they were brainwashed with "jihadi" speeches, said the court.

A total of 31 of the accused in the Ahmedabad serial bombings were active members of SIMI. They participated in different meetings, used Jihadi speeches, and also brought in others to participate in the meetings, observed the court.

"In the speeches, they talked about causing bomb explosions in Hindu majority settlements to avenge Godhra riots and leading jihad against the anti-Muslim government. They rented houses where they stored materials and made bombs," the court noted.

SIMI members helped seven other accused in making bombs and planting cycles with bombs in different places (in Ahmedabad), it said.

"Many of these accused stayed in different hotels in Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Pune, Vapi and Hyderabad assuming fake names. They stole four-wheelers from Mumbai, and brought cycles and gas bottles, and conducted recce before placing bombs," the court stated.

Bombs had exploded at various spots in Ahmedabad, including the state government-run civil hospital, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, on buses, parked bicycles, in cars and other places, killing 56 people.

As many as 29 live bombs were also found in Surat in the next couple of days, though none of them exploded.

While 38 people 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 (UAPA), 11 others were held guilty for criminal conspiracy and under various sections of the UAPA, the prosecution had said.

The court imposed a fine of Rs 2.85 lakh on 48 convicts and Rs 2.88 lakh on another convict.

The court also awarded compensation of Rs one lakh to the relatives of those who died in the blasts, Rs 50,000 to those who were seriously injured and Rs 25,000 to those who received minor injuries.