Guj blast verdict testimony to hard work, team spirit: Senior cops

The 'historic' judgment in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case is a testimony to the hard work and the team spirit of investigators who painstakingly gathered evidence by busting separate modules and arresting accused from various states in a short time, senior police officials who probed the case said on Saturday.

A special court on Friday sentenced to death 38 members of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen for the blasts that killed 56 people and injured over 200.

It also gave the life term to another 11 IM convicts in the case.

The verdict goes down in the Indian judicial history as the first such ruling wherein the maximum number of death sentences were handed down by a court at one go.

The investigation was handed over to the crime branch, which was at that time headed by Ashish Bhatia, who is now Gujarat DGP, while Abhay Chudasama, the then deputy commissioner of police (crime), also played a crucial role in the probe.

According to officers who were part of the probe, detecting a crime that was committed with proper planning, involving different modules working separately for a common cause, was a challenging task.

"The terrorists worked with proper planning, with different modules working separately. Detecting a crime committed with such planning is difficult, but we surpassed the challenge with a team effort. We detected the crime in a very short time," said Gandhinagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Mayur Chavda, one of the investigators.

The judgment justifies the efforts put in during the investigation. Teams of around 300 police personnel were fanned out across different states to zero in on the accused and gather evidence against them, he recalled.

Usha Rada, the then assistant commissioner of police in Ahmedabad city when the blast occurred in Khadia locality, said that the historic judgment shows that the efforts of the investigators have paid off.

"It shows that the investigation was strong, and those who worked on it deserve credit," said Rada, who is now the SP in Surat.

Surat ACP R R Sarvaiya, who investigated the planting of 29 live bombs in the city that did not explode, hailed the role of witnesses.

Barring a few, most of the 391 witnesses firmly believed that the terrorists behind the bombing should be punished, irrespective of their religious affiliations, the official said.

"The IM terrorists planted live bombs in 29 locations in Surat, including two cars which were filled with explosives. Efforts of different teams of the Gujarat police paid off. They brought together strong evidence and placed them before the court," Sarvaiya said.

Rada said that everybody in the investigation team, from senior officers to constables, gave their 100 per cent, with the single goal to solve the crime.

"It was a frightening situation. We worked hard, from senior officers to constables, all gave their 100 per cent to investigate this case, without caring about time.

The historic judgment shows that our efforts have paid off. It shows that the investigation was strong, and those who worked on it deserve credit," the official added.