A Delhi Court Tuesday convicted seven persons including two Pakistanis in connection with a string of blasts across North India in 1997 in which 17 persons were killed and nearly 300 injured.
The Pakistanis -- Azad Mohammed and Mohd Hussain -- were associated with the militant outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba. The others convicted are Amir Khan, Mohd Shakil, Abdul Bagi, Mohd Umar Ali and Mohd Abdul Qasim.
The quantum of sentence will be pronounced Wednesday. Additional Sessions Judge Rajiv Mehra found the two Pakistanis along with Khan, Shakil and Bagi guilty of waging war against the country. The LeT militants were also convicted under the Foreigners Act. Besides, the accused were held guilty under various provisions of Arms Act and Explosive Substance Act.
The series of blasts in 1997 had rocked the northern Indian cities of Delhi, Panipat, Sonepat, Ludhiana, Kanpur and Varanasi. In the same case, eight other accused were convicted in the year 2003 after they had pleaded guilty. Five other accused were discharged by the court for want of evidence.