German Bakery bomb blast convict gets death sentence

PUNE: The lone German bakery blast case convict Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig was sentenced to death by a sessions court in Pune on Thursday.

The court had on Monday found Baig, the only person arrested among the seven accused in the case, guilty on five counts, including murder and criminal conspiracy.

After day- long arguments, additional sessions judge NP Dhote said the case fell under the “rarest-of-the-rare” category, warranting the most severe punishment. The court also sentenced him to life imprisonment on five other counts. The death penalty will have to be confirmed by the Bombay high court.

Baig, who had kept his calm when pronounced guilty, fainted briefly on hearing the sentence. “The innocent victims of bakery blast will not get justice if another innocent person gets hanged,” a weeping Baig said, reading out from his notes. The judge said he could approach higher court if he felt justice was not done.

On February 13, 2010, a powerful blast ripped apart Pune’s famous German Bakery, killing 17 people, including four foreigners, and wounding 60.

CONTINUED ON P9