COURT FINDS FOUR GUILTY

A special court in Jaipur on Wednesday pronounced judgement in the 2008 Jaipur blast case. Court held four out of five accused guilty, while one was acquitted. They have been found guilty under various sections of IPC and UAPA.

Judge Ajay Kumar Sharma of the special court pronounced the judgement and held Mohammad Saif, Sarwar Azami, Saif-ur Rahman and Salman guilty of planning the blasts. Shahbaz Hussain has been acquitted. All five are residents of Uttar Pradesh. The sentence would be pronounced on December 20.

Three of their associates, including Yasin Bhatkal, have not been arrested to date for this case, and two others were killed in the Batla House encounter.

All the five accused had been brought to the court amid tight security for the judgement. The four, who have been found guilty, were seen congratulating Shahbaz after the court acquitted him.

There was no electricity in the courtroom when the judgement was pronounced.

The judgement was pronounced in the light of a cell phone torch.

A series of eight blasts had rocked the walled city area of Jaipur eleven years ago on May 13 2008. The bombs had been fitted on bicycles. 71 people had been killed and 176 had been injured.

Police had registered eight FIRs and filed four charge sheets against the five accused under various sections of the IPC, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act UAPA, Explosive Substances Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Five persons were charged and tried by the court and 1296 witnesses gave their statements before the court.

Rajasthan ATS had named 11 persons as accused in the case. It had arrested five persons. The first accused to be arrested was Shahbaz Hussain.

ATS nabbed him in August 2008 on the basis of an email he sent from a cyber cafe in Sahibabad, claiming responsibility for the blasts. Mohammad Saif was arrested in December 2008, Mohammad Sarwar Azmi in January 2009, Saif-ur Rahman in April 2009, and Mohammad Salman in December 2010.

Three accused Asadullah Akhtar, Ahamad Siddhi (alias Yasin Bhatkal), and Aariz could not be arrested as they are in Tihar Jail for blasts in other cities across the country. Two other accused Mohammad Atik and Sajid Chhota were killed in a police encounter in Batla House in Delhi in 2008. As per Rajasthan ATS, three others involved in the case, namely, Mohammad Khalid, Shaadab, and Sajjid Bada are believed to be in Pakistan.