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Coimbatore blasts: Court to sentence 12 convicts
Coimbatore,
Oct
15:
A
court
here
today
will
pronounce
sentences
for
12
persons,
who
were
convicted
for
their
involvement
in
the
1998
Coimbatore
serial
bomb
blasts.
Earlier, court had pronounced sentences for 35 persons, who were convicted for their involvement in the case. The imprisonment for the 35 convicts varies from nine months to seven years.
Judge K Uthirapathi of the Sessions Court (Bomb Blast cases) set off the term against the period already spent by them as undertrials and ordered their release.
The charges against the 35 accused include attempt to murder, rioting, arson and possession of explosives.
The
court
had
on
September
28
sentenced
41
accused
to
rigorous
imprisonment.
The
41
persons
sentenced
faced
charges
other
than
conspiracy,
under
the
Indian
Penal
Code,
the
Indian
Arms
Act,
the
Explosive
Substances
Act
and
the
Tamil
Nadu
Property
(Prevention
of
Damage
and
Loss)
Act.
In the case, the prosecuting agency registered cases against 168. Of these, one accused died in prison and another turned approver.
Of the 166 accused, a total of 158 have been convicted of various charges, while eight have been acquitted.
Among the eight not found guilty are PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madhani. They were also released.
Seventy accused were found guilty of major charges like criminal conspiracy and murder.
Twelve blasts rocked the city on February 14, 1998 that killed 58 and injured over 200 others.
The blasts were targeted at a venue where senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani was scheduled to address a meeting.
In April 2000, a Special Court was formed to try the cases, and in the same year (October 2000), charges were framed.
The trial started in March 2002, and has till date examined 1,300 witnesses out of a total of 2,345.
The arguments began in June 2006 and ended on April 10, 2007.
The Special Investigation Team of Tamil Nadu Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department, which probed the cases, has argued that "Operation Allahu-Akbar", was part of a conspiracy to eliminate Advani.
ANI
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