11 others were sentenced to life in prison for a series of bombings in Gujarat’s capital Ahmedabad that killed more than 50 people.

An Indian court has sentenced 38 people to death and 11 others to life in prison for a series of bomb blasts in the western city of Ahmedabad in 2008 that killed dozens of people.

On February 8, a court found 49 persons guilty of shooting shrapnel across markets, buses, and other public areas in Gujarat’s commercial capital, killing 56 people and injuring 200 more.

Nearly 80 persons were charged in all for the attacks, but 28 were acquitted. All of the accused were convicted of murder and criminal conspiracy.

Judge A R Patel on Friday ordered the punishment after the prosecution pressed for the death sentence describing the incident as a “rarest of rare case” in which innocent lives were lost.

A defence lawyer said they would appeal the verdict in a higher court.

“We had sought lenient sentences for the convicts as they have already spent more than 13 years in prison,” Khalid Shaikh told Reuters news agency. “But the court awarded death to the majority of them. We will definitely go for appeal.”

A group calling itself the “Indian Mujahideen” had claimed responsibility for the blasts on July 26, 2008. It said the act was revenge for 2002 religious riots in the state that left some 1,000 people – mostly Muslims – dead.

The marathon trial lasted nearly a decade, with more than 1,100 witnesses called to testify. It was dragged out by procedural delays, including a legal battle by four of the accused to retract confessions.

Police also foiled a 2013 attempt by more than a dozen of the defendants to tunnel their way out of jail using food plates as digging tools.

All 77 accused have been held in custody for years, except for one who was bailed after a schizophrenia diagnosis.

Ahmedabad was the centre of deadly 2002 religious riots that saw at least 1,000 people hacked, shot and burned to death.

The violence broke out after the death of 59 Hindus in a train fire – a case in which 31 Muslims were convicted for criminal conspiracy and murder.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was then head of the state government and has subsequently been dogged by accusations of turning a blind eye to the violence.

Image Credit: Getty

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