Mumbai: A special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court today pronounced the quantum of punishment for all those found guilty in the 2002-2003 Mumbai blasts case that killed 13 people.
Special POTA Judge PR Deshmukh sentenced to life 3 of the 10 convicted in the multiple blasts while key accused Saquib Nachan was given a ten-year jail term. The court said that convict Muzammil Ansari (who had planted the bombs) will undergo life imprisonment till the end of his life. Two other convicts who were granted life are Farhaan Khot and Dr Wahid Ansari. Six others were awarded various jail terms ranging from 2-10 years.
The court ordered that 75 per cent of the fine amount (total Rs 9 lakh) recovered (from the convicts) will go to District Legal Services Authority while rest will go to the Indian Railways. The court also directed DLSA, Mumbai to decide the quantum of compensation to be awarded to the victims and dependents and accordingly pay it.
Yesterday, the court had reserved its verdict on the quantum of sentence to ten persons convicted for their role in the multiple blasts, till today.
Earlier, on March 29, the court had convicted key accused Saquib Nachan, Ateef Mulla, Hasib Mulla, Ghulam Kotal, Mohammed Kamil, Noor Malik, Anwar Ali Khan, Farhaan Khot, Dr Wahid Ansari and Muzammil Ansari in the case.
Twelve people were killed in Mulund train blasts on March 13, 2003. Prior to that, on December 6, 2002, several persons were injured in a blast at McDonald's at Mumbai Central station, while a person had died in a blast in a market in Vile Parle (East) on January 27, 2003.
During the course of arguments on the sentencing, Special Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian had demanded capital punishment for Muzammil Ansari. She had also sought life imprisonment for Saquib Nachan, Gulam Khotal, Farhaan Khot and Dr Wahid Ansari.
In a combined chargesheet, filed against 15 accused in the Mulund, Vile Parle and Mumbai Central blast cases, police had charged them with offences under POTA, the Explosive Substances Act and preparation to wage war against the nation and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code.
Two accused died during the trial and cases against them were abated. Six are still wanted in the case. During the trial, prosecution examined 153 witnesses while the defence examined 30 witnesses. The trial began in 2014, as earlier some of the accused had challenged POTA and had also challenged clubbing of the cases.
