Slamming the police for 'serious lapses' in probe of the 1996 Lajpat Nagar bomb blast case, the Delhi high court on Thursday acquitted two alleged Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front terrorists, sentenced with capital punishment in the case, and commuted the death penalty of the third terrorist to life imprisonment.
A total of 10 members of Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Tayiba and other proscribed outfits were on Tuesday designated as terrorists by the Union ministry of home affairs under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
District and Sessions Judge S P Garg had on April 13 found six out of 10 suspected members of banned terror outfit guilty for their varying roles in the case. Three other convicted terrorists were handed down varied jail terms.
A Delhi court deferred to April 17 the pronouncement of sentence against six militants of Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF) in the 1996 Lajpat Nagar blast case in which the prosecution has sought death penalty for four of the convicts.
A stolen Maruti car, laden with explosives went off around 6:30 pm on May 21, 1996 in the crowded central market at Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi, killing 13 persons and injuring 38 others.