German Bakery Blast Convict Won't Hang. Death Sentence Commuted To Life Term

Mumbai: Himayat Baig, earlier convicted for bombing Pune's German Bakery where 17 people died, will not hang, said the Bombay High Court today, accepting his appeal against the death sentence given to him by a Pune court.

Himayat Baig was today acquitted of most of the charges against him, but given the life sentence for illegally possessing deadly explosives and forging documents.

Though details of the court verdict are awaited, it appears that the Bombay High Court has rejected Himayat Baig as the mastermind of the German Bakery bombing.  

Himayat Baig, an alleged member of the banned Indian Mujahdieen, was arrested in 2010 in Latur in Maharashtra, where the anti-terror squad said 1,200 kilos of explosives had been found in his home. In 2013, he was found guilty of the terror attack in Pune. Prosecutors said the bomb that was used was assembled at an internet cafe run by Himayat Baig in Udgir, Latur. They also said he was seen often with Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and even travelled to Pune with him in a state transport bus. 

Himayat Baig's lawyers have argued that he was not in Pune when the German Bakery was bombed in 2010.  

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Security cameras at the cafe showed a tall, lanky man placing a bag under a chair before exiting the bakery. It exploded minutes later.

According to Intel agencies, that man was Yasin Bhatkal, who co-founded the Mujahideen and was arrested three years ago in Bihar along the border with Nepal.

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Himayat Baig's lawyers have said he is being punished for Bhatkal's crime. Two witnesses also told the Bombay High Court that they had been coerced into testifying against him.