2003 Mumbai Blasts Case: POTA Court to Announce Verdict on Aug 6
A special POTA court hearing the 2003 Mumbai twin blast case has decided to pronounce the quantum of punishment to three main convicts on August 6.
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, confirming the deferring of sentencing, told media persons outside the court, “The special court has reserved till Thursday the sentencing of the husband-wife team and their aide convicted for the August 2003 twin bombings in Mumbai.”
He further said, “During the arguments, we pleaded the court that all three convicts deserve capital punishment since they committed a heinous crime killing 54 people and injuring more than 244.”
Nikam said that the prosecution informed the court about culprits’ sinister designs to engineer more explosions in the city and kill more people if they had not been arrested by the authorities soon after the twin blasts.
While briefing the media persons, he said, “Since the three convicts have no regrets for their actions, we have pleaded the court to give them a stringent punishment.”
“Although, the arguments of the defence and the prosecution today focused on the possible sentencing of the female convict (Fehmida Sayed), we have maintained that a life sentence awarded to them will be futile since they all posses a devil’s mind,” he stated.
Nikam told media persons that the three convicts, carrying forward Lashkar-e-Toiba’s agenda of executing more blasts and destruction, deserve a stricter punishment.
The special POTA court had earlier convicted Ashrat Shafique Ansari (32), Mohammed Hanif Sayed (46) and his wife Fehmida Sayed (43) for murder and conspiracy under Sections 302, 307, 427 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, besides finding them guilty under Section 3 of POTA.
On August 25, 2003 two blasts had rocked the Gateway of India and the busy Zaveri Bazaar in South Mumbai. The blasts were carried out by a terror module of the LeT.
