49 convicted in Ahmedabad serial blast case, sentence today

A special sessions court will begin hearing applications on the quantum of punishment for 49 of 78 accused who were convicted on February 8 in the serial bombings in Ahmedabad in 2008, in which 56 persons were killed. The court had concluded the trial last September. The court had set February 1 as the date for the judgment, but the matter was deferred to February 8 after the judge fell ill and then transferred it further. The police had claimed that persons associated with the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen were involved in the blasts.