India Court Finds 12 Guilty Of 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts

An Indian court has convicted 12 of the 13 men accused of planning blasts that ripped through Mumbai commuter trains in 2006, killing more than 180 people and wounding more than 800. Judge Yatin D Shinde on Friday found them guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy charges and said he will announce their sentences on Monday after hearing arguments from the prosecutors and defence attorneys. They face the death penalty. Aljazeera has more:

Prosecution lawyer, Raja Thackeray, said that the verdict was long awaited. One of the defendants, who was charged with harbouring assailants at his home, was acquitted by the special court, according to the private Indian news channel, NDTV.

    Seven bombs went off within 15 minutes on the packed trains during the evening rush hour in the financial hub on July 11, 2006. KP Raghuvanshi, state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief at the time of the bombings, said that justice had been done.

    “I believe that justice has been done…,” said Raghuvanshi. The convictions announced nearly nine years after court delays prompted by accusations that the suspects were coerced into falsely confessing their involvement in the blasts.

    Prosecutors alleged that the attacks were planned by Pakistan’s Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, and carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives with help from the Students’ Islamic Movement of India, a banned armed organisation. Pakistan has denied the claims.