JAIPUR: A special court Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to four men found guilty in a case related to the 2008 blasts that had rocked Jaipur, reports Ashish Mehta. Special judge Ramesh Joshi also imposed a fine of Rs 1.6 lakh on each of the four accused – Saif-ur-Rehman, Mohammed Saif, Sarwar Azami and Shahbaz Ahmed – who were convicted under various sections of UAPA, IPC and the Explosives Act, on April 4.
The case related to the detection of a live bomb at Ramchandraji Temple in Chandpole Bazar. While eight bombs planted across various locations in the city exploded on May 13, 2008, claiming 71 lives and leaving 185 injured, the ninth one at Chandpole was defused upon being discovered. A separate FIR was registered in this matter. The counsel for the four convicts said they would appeal against the order.
On Dec 18, 2019, a special court dealing with the eight blast cases awarded a death penalty to four accused – Mohammed Saif, Mohammed Sarwar Azmi, Saifur Rehman and Mohammed Salman – while Shahbaz was acquitted.
The high court overturned the verdict on March 29, 2003, citing inadequate evidence and lacunas in investigation, and acquitted all four convicts.