Mumbai, August 6
A special court set up under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) today sentenced three people, including a woman, to death by hanging for their role in setting off bombs at Mumbai's Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar on August 2003.
The three, Mohammed Hanif Sayeed (46), his wife Fahmida (43) and Ashrat Ansari (32), were found guilty of the terrorist act late last month. Sentencing the trio, Judge MR Puranik of the POTA court ruled that it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that they were responsible for carrying out the blasts. The judge agreed with the prosecution that such forms of terrorism called for the death penalty, which is awarded in the rarest of rare cases.
The blasts claimed 52 lives and injured 184 others. The three were responsible for carrying out blasts elsewhere in Mumbai as well. While one bomb in a BEST bus was defused, two persons were killed in the other incident that happened days before the two blasts.
In addition to the death penalty, the three were awarded prison terms for setting off explosives and damaging public property.
The court had earlier let off the daughter of Mohammed and Fahmida aged 16 at the time of the blasts on account of her being a minor. Two others, Rizwan Ladoowala and Hassan Batterywala, who were also arrested in connection with the case, were let off following an order of the Supreme Court last year. According to the prosecution, a third accused Nisar Ahmed, who was the brain behind the blasts, was killed in an encounter shortly after the others were arrested.
