More than 13 years after the first arrest, the special court had on February 8 convicted 49 people for the terror attack in Ahmedabad.
On July 26, 2008, 19 bombs rocked the city within 70 minutes, killing 56 people and injuring over 200.
Convicting 49 people, including a former leader of the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Safdar Nagori,
The court has acquitted 28 accused persons and granted clemency to the government witness, ayaz syed, dropping the charges against him. Of the 28 acquitted, the court said it did not find evidence against them, while 16 others were given the benefit of the doubt saying that the evidence produced against them was not sufficient.
Of the 28 acquitted, 27 had spent nearly 13 years in prison. one of them, Naved QadriHe was released on temporary bail as he was suffering from schizophrenia.
Hospitals were targeted for the first time in the country in this terrorist attack. 37 people died in the blast at the Civil Hospital. These included some who had reached the hospital to donate blood to the injured victims, who were brought to the hospital for treatment.
There was also an explosion at LG Hospital, but no one was injured there.
The court heard a combination of 35 separate cases registered against the accused in Ahmedabad and Surat. 20 FIRs were registered for bomb blasts in Ahmedabad and 15 in Surat as 29 unexploded bombs were recovered from different parts of the city a few days after the terrorist attack.
Then an unknown organisation, the Indian Mujahideen (IM), had claimed responsibility for the terror attack and termed the act as a retaliation for the 2002 riots. Police claimed that some members of banned outfit SIMI had formed the IM.
The prosecution examined more than 1,100 witnesses in the case. There were 26 witnesses who were marked as star witnesses and the court as well as the government had ensured special provisions to hide their identity for their safety. The four accused were treated as government witnesses by accepting their confessions, though they later fought a legal battle claiming their retractions. One of the accused offered to become a government witness and his request was accepted by the court.
The special court initially heard the case at Sabarmati Central Jail, but most of the prosecution took place through videoconferencing. The trial went on amid various controversies and obstacles. One of them was an alleged attempt to escape from jail by 24 accused in the case.
On 11 February, the jail authorities discovered a 213-foot-long tunnel already dug from the Chhota Chakkar area in the jail.
,