2nd LD Writethru: Indian special court convicts 12 men in 2006 Mumbai train blasts case
Xinhua, September 11, 2015 Adjust font size:
An Indian special court on Friday convicted 12 men in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, in which nearly 190 people were killed and over 800 injured.
The anti-terror court judge Yatin D. Shinde held the 12 men guilty of waging war against the state, conspiracy and murder, but acquitted one accused in the case.
However, 15 more people -- mostly the masterminds -- accused in the multiple blasts are still absconding, according to police.
The 12 convicts, all members of home-grown banned terror outfit Students Islamic Movement of India, will be sentenced Monday. They face death penalty or life in prison.
"Justice has been done for the people of Mumbai. I will ask for the strictest punishment when I argue for their sentences," public prosecutor Raja Thakre told the media.
Seven blasts ripped through the first-class coaches on Mumbai's commuter trains in a span of just 11 minutes on the evening of July 11, 2006.
The bombs, which were kept in pressure cookers, exploded at rush hour when lakhs of office-goers use Mumbai's local trains to get back home from work.
More than 200 witnesses were examined during the nine-year-long trial, which concluded in August last year.
Prosecutors claim the attack was planned by Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence, an allegation denied by Islamabad. Endi