Kochi ∙ Investigative agencies had found that four bikes had been smuggled from Kerala to carry out the blast in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The NIA later confirmed that one of the bikes belonged to a Kochi resident. Following the chassis number obtained from the forensic examination of the bike damaged in the blast, the investigating officers went to Kochi in June 2012 to search for the bike owner from Mattancherry.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had conducted a forensic examination of the remains of four bikes used in the blasts at various places in Mumbai and Gujarat. The investigation team reached Kochi in search of the registered owner of one of the bikes. The team had sought evidence from the owner and collected evidence at the Mattancherry RTO office, Kochi Municipal Corporation regional office, ration shop and nearby houses.
Ahmedabad Special Court Judge AR Patel passed the verdict on July 26, 2008, after a 13 – year trial in a series of 21 blasts in Ahmedabad. Of the 49 convicted in the case, 38 were sentenced to death. Of these, Shibili, Shaduli and Sharafaddin are Malayalees. They were convicted of participating in terrorist training camps in Vagamon and Panaikulam.
Gujarat police initially arrested 85 people in connection with the case. The trial is being held against 78 activists of the Indian Mujahideen, a sub-branch of the banned SIMI. One of them apologized. In addition to the charges of murder and criminal conspiracy, the accused were also charged under UAPA law.
English Summary: 2008 Ahmedabad blasts case: 38 convicts get death sentence, life imprisonment to 11