Seven Get Death Penalty for 2017 Bhopal-Ujjain Train Blast

A special court of India's counter-terrorist task force the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday awarded the death sentences to seven of the eight convicts in the 2017 Bhopal-Ujjain train blast case. One of them received life imprisonment, Indian media reported.

The seven convicts have been identified as Mohammad Faisal, Gaus Mohammad Khan, Mohammad Azhar, Atif Muzaffar, Mohammad Danish, Syed Mir Hussain, and Asif Iqbal Rocky. The other one, receiving life imprisonment, has been identified as Atif Iraqi.

All the accused were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Explosive Substances Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and Railway Act, among others.

Announcing the verdict, Justice V.S. Tripathi said the case fell in the "rarest of the rare category" and the convicts should be given the "severest" punishment.

The court said that "the convicts waged war against the country and hence they were not entitled to any leniency."

Now, the special court will send its verdict and case file to the Allahabad High Court, as special and lower courts (like district courts) cannot award the death penalty. According to Indian law, the death penalty can be executed only after confirmation by the High Court.

The Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train bombing occurred on March 7, 2017, where 10 people were injured in the explosion caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The bombing occurred in the Shajapur area of Madhya Pradesh between 9:30 and 10:00 am (IST).

The NIA took over the case, and in its investigation said it had sufficient evidence to prove that the convicts had conspired to carry out the "terror act." During the investigation, the NIA referred to all the convicts as Daesh terrorists*.

The chargesheet filed by the NIA alleged that the convicts had tried to go to Daesh-held territories in Syria and Iraq several times and conspired to "cause subversive activities" by "collecting arms and fabricated IEDs" at a hideout in Lucknow. It was stated that they had planted the IEDs at many locations in Uttar Pradesh state, but the bombing attempts failed. However, they were able to detonate an IED in Madhya Pradesh.