MUMBAI (TIP): The Pune Sessions Court on April 17 sentenced to death Mirza Himayat Baig, 30, in connection with the 2010 bomb blast at Pune’s German Bakery that claimed 17 lives. Three days ago, Pune sessions court Special Judge NP Dhote had held Baig guilty in the case in which he was the lone accused arrested. A resident of Beed district, Baig was nabbed from Udgir town in neighbouring Latur district by the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on September 7, 2010, nearly seven months after the attack. Investigators said they found 1,200 kg explosives in his possession. The chargesheet against Baig said the blast was planned by six persons at a meeting in Colombo two years before the event.

On the day of conviction (April 15), Special Public Prosecutor Raja Thakre said Baig was charged under Sections 302, 307 (murder and attempt to murder), 435, 474 (mischief by fire and explosive and forgery) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, besides other charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Explosives Act. The court upheld the prosecution contention that the blast was “a carefully planned and executed attack” calculated to terrorise the general public, causing extensive damage to life and property.

The prosecution said the primary objective of the terror attack was to undermine and reduce faith of the common people in the elected government and destabilise the system of law. The special judge upheld the prosecution argument that the terror attack caused deaths of foreign nationals, earning the country a bad name. Five foreigners were among the 17 victims of the February 13, 2010, blast.