Mumbai Train Blasts 2006: Indian Court Hands Down Death Penalty To 5 Men, Life Term To 7

A court in India’s western state of Maharashtra Wednesday sentenced five men to death and ordered life imprisonment for seven others in connection to a series of bomb blasts on busy commuter trains in the state capital Mumbai in 2006. The blasts in seven trains killed 188 people and injured over 800.

A special court for organized crime and terrorism in Mumbai announced the judgment. Prosecutors said the men sentenced to death planted bombs on the trains, which are considered lifeline of India's financial capital.

A defense attorney said he would appeal the court verdict, the Associated Press reported.

The latest ruling comes soon after 12 men were convicted by the court in relation to the case earlier this month.

On 11 July 2006, seven bombs -- made from an explosive known as RDX -- exploded within a 10-minute span in the evening when crowd of commuters is at its peak. Prosecutors said the attack was orchestrated by Pakistan's Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and carried out by militants from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group.

Over 200 witnesses were examined during the trial, which lasted for more than seven years. One person was also acquitted due to lack of evidence during the trial that ended last year.

However, Pakistan has consistently denied the allegations. Relations between the two nuclear-armed nations have remained chilled for years amid border tensions, and the two neighbors have fought wars against each other thrice since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947.