Maximum punishment for 2006 carnage convicts
The conviction of 12 of the 13 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case is the first step towards securing justice in what remains one of the most deadly terror attacks in the country since independence, second only to the Bombay blasts of 1993. On July 11 of 2006, seven powerful explosions ripped through the first-class compartments of Mumbai local trains between Churchgate and Bhayander stations. In less than 15 minutes, 187 people were dead. One man succumbed to his injuries a few days later and another passed away in July this year after being in coma for nine long years. More than 800 others were injured that day.
Today, it is the 2008 Mumbai attack that is considered to be the big jihadi incident that changed the terror narrative in India and globally — possibly because of the targets that were hit (hotels, posh cafes etc) and the manner in which India's financial capital was under siege for three days — but what’s often ignored is that the 2006 attack that actually claimed more lives and injured far more people. It is hoped that when the special court hearing the case announces the quantum of sentence on Monday, the convicted will be given the maximum punishment that is applicable to them under the law of the land. These individuals, who carefully planned and skillfully executed the carnage, deserve no mercy, no second chances. Also, the other accused in the case, who could not be brought to trial, must be pursued and prosecuted.
The chargesheet listed 30 conspirators, of which 13 are Pakistani nationals and 17 Indians. All the Pakistani accused and four of the 17 Indian accused are absconding. This includes mastermind Azam Cheema, who has been the lashkar-e-Tayyeba's intelligence chief. He was also head of the leT's India operation and especially keen on carrying out spectacular attacks on high-profile targets. No surprise then that Cheema was also involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 164 people and injured 300 others.
But while India must bring to justice all those who were responsible for the bloodbath that happened in 2006, it is equally important that the country learn its lesson from these attacks and ensure that never again are innocent Indians slaughtered in this manner by depraved minds that believe in a vile ideology. One can blame Pakistan for the mess — as even the 2006 bomb blast trial has proven yet again that Pakistan-based actors were the guiding force of the operation, from training the bombers to helping procure them procure the necessary supplies to ensuring all the logistics were in place. However, finger-pointing will not make this country any safer from Pakistan-sponsored attacks. India can and should pursue perpetrators based in Pakistan but also keep in mind that just like the killing of Osama bin laden didn't end Al Qaida's terrorism, the capture or incarceration of an Azam Cheema or even a Hafiz Saeed will not solve the problem of Pakistani terror. That problem can only be fully resolved from within that country. In the meantime, India can only secure its fences (remember, the bombing teams came in through Nepal and Bangladesh) and radically improve its criminal justice system from beat policing an intelligence gathering to shoring up its forensic investigation capabilities and judicial mechanisms.