17 Years After Jaipur Blasts, Four Terrorists Sentenced to Life for Live Bomb

Jaipur: Seventeen years after a series of deadly blasts shook Jaipur, a special court on Tuesday sentenced four men to life imprisonment in connection with the recovery of a live bomb linked to the 2008 terror attacks. The court found Saifur Rehman, Mohammad Saif, Mohammad Sarwar Azmi, and Shahbaz Ahmed guilty on Apr 4, and handed down the sentence following a lengthy trial.

The serial blasts on May 13, 2008, claimed 71 lives and left 185 people injured. A ninth explosive device, discovered near a guest house in Chandpole Bazaar, was defused just 15 minutes before it could detonate. The court’s judgment, running 600 pages, focused on the attempt to carry out that ninth explosion, which could have caused further devastation.

In a courtroom moment that drew attention, Shahbaz’s lawyer, Mujahid Ahmad, opened his arguments with a verse suggesting bias in the legal system. The presiding judge, Ramesh Kumar Joshi, responded with his own poetry, underlining the idea that justice is ultimately guided by conscience and moral clarity.

The court found that Sarwar Azmi, Saifur Rehman, and Mohammad Saif had conducted reconnaissance of the blast sites before planting the explosives. Shahbaz Ahmed was held responsible for claiming the attack on behalf of the Indian Mujahideen through an email sent from a cyber café.

Despite the gravity of the crimes and the sentence, the four men showed no remorse as they left the courtroom. Photographs taken outside the court showed them smiling and laughing. One of them was seen pointing at someone outside from a police vehicle, while another smiled openly as he was led away by police.

All four were convicted under two sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and three sections of the Explosive Substances Act, all carrying a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The verdict was pronounced on Apr 4.

Previously, Saifur Rehman, Mohammad Saif, and Sarwar Azmi had been sentenced to death in the serial blast case. However, the High Court later acquitted them. The state govt has since challenged the acquittal in the Supreme Court, and that appeal remains pending.