The Hindu : Front Page : Basha, 30 others get life term in blasts cases

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Thursday, Oct 25, 2007
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Basha, 30 others get life term in blasts cases

V.S. Palaniappan

Special Court will pronounce sentences for the remaining accused today

Coimbatore: Al-Umma founder S.A. Basha and general secretary Mohammed Ansari were among 31 persons sentenced to life imprisonment in the Coimbatore serial blasts cases on Wednesday.

Special Court Judge K. Uthirapathy sentenced 35 accused. While four were given 10 years rigorous imprisonment (RI), 17 were awarded double life terms, and 12 got a single life term. Abdul Ozir was sentenced to undergo four life terms and Jehangir, three life-terms.

Though for individual offences the court awarded sentences ranging from three years to four life terms, it said they would run concurrently, bringing down the maximum punishment to a life term.

The court will sentence the remaining accused on Thursday.

The charges

Those sentenced on Wednesday faced charges of conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder, rioting and abetment, besides charges under Explosive Substances Act, Indian Arms Act and Tamil Nadu Public Properties (Prevention of Damages and Losses) Act. Basha was awarded life sentence for conspiracy read with various IPC offences and three years RI for promoting communal hatred. Mohammed Ansari was awarded two life terms besides 73 years RI. Basha’s brother Nawab Khan was sentenced to one life term and 27 years of RI.

Basha’s son Siddiq Ali was awarded two life terms and 48 years RI. The fifth accused Bashid was awarded a life term and 38 years of RI. Oom Babu was awarded a life term and 95 years RI.

Four accused, termed suicide squad “human bombs,” were awarded 10 years RI. They are expected to be released soon given the remissions they are entitled to.

Plea to court

Basha, Ansari, Tajudeen, Bashid and Oom Babu pleaded they be kept at the Coimbatore Central prison since transferring them to other prisons would amount to punishing their family members. Defence counsel P. Thirumalairajan and Bhavani B. Mohan said the verdict was fit for appeal.

The blasts on February 14, 1998 left 58 persons dead and over 250 injured. The prosecuting agency registered cases against 168 persons. One of them died in judicial custody and another turned approver.

On August 1, the court held that charges against eight accused, including Kerala-based People’s Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasir Maudany, had not been proved, and acquitted them. Of the rest, it found 83 persons guilty of minor charges and released them after setting off the trial period against conviction.

Five of them, facing other cases and serving convictions in other cases, are in judicial custody.

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