Three convicted of Mumbai taxi bombings
A special court in India today found three people, including a woman, guilty of the 2003 Mumbai bombings which left at least 52 people dead.
The court, set up under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, pronounced its judgement against 46-year-old Haneef Sayyed and his wife Fahmeeda, 43, and 32-year-old Ashrat Ansari in Mumbai.
Two bombs planted in taxis exploded at the Gateway of India, Mumbai’s top tourist spot, and in the busy Zaveri Bazaar. The attacks, which left nearly 180 injured, were reportedly carried out to “avenge” the deaths of Muslims during riots the previous year.
The trial has continued for six years and today’s judgement is the biggest since a court convicted 100 people for a 1993 serial blasts case two years ago.
Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said: “This is a fatal blow for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (the Pakistan-based extremist group also blamed for last year’s Mumbai massacre). Three members of the group have been found guilty.
“They killed 52 people mercilessly so we will demand the death penalty for them.”
They will be sentenced on August 4.
The plot was reportedly hatched in Dubai between the prisoners and Nasir Ahmed, the main conspirator. Ahmed was killed in a fight with the police on the outskirts of Mumbai on September 12, 2003.
