MUMBAI BOMB BLAST: The Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted the 12 persons convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, 19 years after the incident shook the city’s Western Railway network. Out of the 12 accused, five were on death row. 187 people were killed while 820 others were injured in the train bombings.
A special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak said the evidence relied by the prosecution was not conclusive to convict the accused persons. “The prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case against the accused. It is hard to believe that the accused committed the crime. Hence, their conviction is quashed and set aside,” the high court said.
The Bench said it refuses to confirm the death penalty imposed on five of the convicts and also the life imprisonment on the remaining seven, and acquitted them. Furthermore, The Court said the accused shall be released from jail forthwith if not wanted in any other case.
A special Court in 2015 convicted the 12 persons in the case, of whom five were sentenced to death and the remaining seven were given life imprisonment.
What Happened in 2006 Mumbai Train Blast
On July 11, 2006, blasts at Mahim, Bandra, and Mira Road railway stations took place simultaneously at 6:23pm, and the last blast took place at Borivali station at 6:28 pm. At Mahim and Borivali railway stations, apart from the passengers in the compartments, the explosions killed and injured even the passengers waiting on platform and those travelling from the trains proceeding towards Churchgate.
This is the same case wherein in Khalnayak Sanjay Dutt was arrested and convicted in 2006 of buying weapons from bombers who attacked Mumbai. He spent 20 months in jail. The serial bombings killed 257 people and wounded 713 others.
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