The plotters of the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bombings also planned to kill Gujarat’s then-chief minister, Narendra Modi, in addition to creating chaos, one of the defendants convicted of the bombings. the bomb by a special court here had admitted in court in the past, the prosecution said on Friday. The special court on Friday sentenced 38 death row inmates and 11 others to life imprisonment until death for the serial explosions in Ahmedabad, which left 56 people dead and more than 200 injured. No less than 21 explosions ravaged the city on July 26, 2008, in the space of 70 minutes.

The court had convicted 49 people and acquitted 28 others in the case as of February 8.

After the sentencing, public prosecutor Sudhir Brahmbhatt told the media that an indictment filed by Gujarat police in 2010 revealed that the convicts, who were associated with the Indian terror group Mujahideen, also planned to eliminate Modi , who is now the prime minister. Minister.

“A 2010 indictment filed in the case contained a statement by an accused that he had made to the magistrate under Article 164 of the CrPC. In his statement, the accused (who is among those convicted ), admitted to having also hatched a plan to kill Prime Minister Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time,” Brahmbhatt said.

Brahmbhat did not give the name of the convict.

A seasoned lawyer, who had the opportunity to skim part of the 7,000-page judgment, said the special court judge also observed in his verdict that the convicts attempted to “kill CM Narendra Modi, then minister of the Interior at the time. Gujarat Amit Shah and local MP Pradipsinh Jadeja. But luckily they survived.” Further, the court noted that the defendant tried to target Modi and his then ministers including Shah, Nitin Patel, Anandiben Patel and MLA Jadeja because they were the ” elected government” in accordance with the Constitution, he said, citing the order.

The lawyer said the court noted that nearly 30 defendants were active members of the banned terrorist group SIMI, which was later activated as the Indian Mujahideen.

While the defendants held training camps in the forests of Gujarat and Kerala, they assembled bombs in rented premises in cities including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat and Pune.

According to the lawyer, the court noted that the defendants were hardened criminals and deserved nothing less than the death penalty for their terrorist acts. Since these defendants showed no mercy to innocent people, there was no need to show them mercy, the attorney said, citing the order.

These defendants had instigated young Muslims in the name of revenge for the 2002 post-Godhra riots, “to overthrow the anti-Muslim government and establish an Islamic regime”, the lawyer said, citing the order.

The court noted that “jihad” is a pious word, but that these terrorist organizations have “misused” it to mislead young Muslims.

The court also urged all Islamic organizations to come forward to end the misuse of the word Jihad and boycott those who sow terror.

Posted: Friday, February 18, 2022, 10:37 PM IST