India court upholds death sentences for three in 2003 Mumbai blasts

India court upholds death sentences for three in 2003 Mumbai blasts

2012-02-11 14:15:59 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW DELHI (BNO NEWS) -- An Indian court on Friday upheld the death sentences for three people who were convicted for their role in two bomb blasts which hit Mumbai in August 2003, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported on Saturday.

Judges AM Khanwilkar and PD Kode upheld the verdict which was issued by the Special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) Court in August 2009. The three were found guilty of planting bombs in two taxis which exploded at the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar in South Mumbai, killing 52 people.

The prosecution said Ashrat Ansari, Hanif Sayed Anees, and his wife Fehmida Sayed, were operatives of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The blasts were allegedly in retaliation for the Gujarat riots in 2002 when more than 1,200 people, mainly Muslims, were killed.

The 2002 riots came shortly after the Sabarmati Express was set on fire near the Godhra railway station, killing 59 people. Most of the victims were Hindu. Earlier last year, a special court sentenced eleven people to death for setting fire to the train while 20 others were sentenced to life in prison. This was one of the largest number of death sentences ever given at the same time in India.

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