The Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, citing a failure by the prosecution to prove their guilt and raising serious concerns about the investigation and evidence presented.
On Wednesday, the special MCOCA court in Mumbai awarded death sentences to Kamal Ahamed Ansari, 37, Mohd Faisal Shaikh, 36, Ehtesham Siddiqui, 30, Naveed Hussain Khan, 30 and Asif Khan, 38, for the role they played in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts, which claimed the lives of 188 people.
Seven years after the Mumbai serial train blasts in which nearly 200 people were killed and over 700 injured, the trial in the case is still going on with the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court recording the statements of the accused. "The court is now recording the statement of the accused who wanted to depose as a defence witness in the case," said advocate Sherif Sheikh, appearing for some of the accused in the case
All 12 convicts found guilty in the case relating to the July 11, 2006 serial train blasts, which claimed 188 lives in local trains in Mumbai, have pleaded leniency in the court on the point of sentence citing humanitarian grounds.
"Considering their role, eight convicts deserve death penalty," the prosecution told the court.
Two government school teachers, including a woman, were shot dead by terrorists in Eidgah area of Srinagar amid increasing attacks on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
