New Delhi:
A special court will on Friday sentence to death the four men convicted for the serial blasts that killed 71 people in 2008. Justice Ajay Kumar Sharma pronounced the death penalty to Mohammad Saif, Mohammad Sarwar Azmi, Mohammad Salman and Saifurrehman. The decision came 11 months seven months seven days after the blasts that killed more than 70 people and injured 185 others. The serial blasts rocked Jaipur on the evening of May 13, 2008 within a two-kilometre radius in the walled city, popular also with tourists.
On Wednesday, the court had convicted Saif, Azmi, Salman and Saifurrehman, while another accused, Shahbaz Hussain, was acquitted with the court giving him the benefit of the doubt. Apart from these five, two accused were killed in the Batla House encounter in Delhi in the same year and five others are still absconding.
The special court on Thursday had heard arguments on the quantum of punishment for the four men.
Public prosecutor Srichand had demanded death penalty for the convicts. Srichand called the 2008 explosions the second deadliest incident of the kind after the serial blasts in Mumbai. He claimed the four convicts did not display any fear in the courtroom.
