Court sentences two men to death

An Indian court yesterday sentenced two men to death over bomb blasts in Mumbai two decades ago that killed more than 250 people.

Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan and Tahir Merchant were convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 blasts and sentenced to death.

"So far as the two death sentences are concerned, I am satisfied," said special prosecutor Deepak Salve after the closed hearing.

A key figure in the attacks, Abu Salem, was sentenced to life imprisonment. India had to agree that Salem would not receive the death penalty when Salem was extradited from Portugal.

Public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam announced life terms against Salem and Karimullah Khan, and a 10-year term against a fifth defendant.

The sentences come after a special court in Mumbai convicted six men in June on a range of offences in the attacks. One accused, Mustafa Dossa, died of a heart attack shortly after the conviction.

The court acquitted a seventh man, Abdul Quayyum, for lack of evidence.

The six were found guilty of involvement in coordinated bomb attacks on the Mumbai stock exchange, the headquarters of Air India and a shopping centre in March 1993 that killed 257 people and injured hundreds more.