Taher Merchant and Feroze Khan, two of the five convicts in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, were sentenced to death by a special Indian court . Two others, Abu Salem and Karimullah Khan were sentenced to life in jail. Another convict, Riyaz Siddiqui, was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
On March 12, 1993, serial blasts in the city killed 257 and left over 713 injured, reports TOI.
The sentencing comes after extensive arguments were made by the prosecution and defence since June 16 when the court had convicted Salem, Merchant, Feroze, and Karimullah on charges of criminal conspiracy, murder, and indulging in acts of terrorism that cause death. Siddiqui was found guilty on the lesser charge for abetting and aiding terrorism. Mustafa Dossa was convicted as well, but he died of natural causes before today's sentencing.
Investigators had said the bombs were ordered by India’s most wanted man, gangster Dawood Ibrahim, to avenge the demolition of the historic Babri mosque in north India by Hindu hardliners in 1992, during a period of religious conflict; according to a Reuters report.