Those who plot against India will eventually pay
Though the losses, both individual and collective, resulting from the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, can never be compensated, the stringent punishment awarded to the 12 terrorists who carried out the ghastly attacks is an important step towards ensuring justice. It sends out a strong signal that those who conspire against the nation will be held accountable by the state. The process may take some time but eventually the perpetrators will be brought to book. To understand how important this is, even if the sentencing comes nine years after the attack, one only has to put oneself in the shoes of, say, Parag Sawant's loved ones. Sawant became the 189th victim of the attack on September 11 this year, after lying comatose in a Mumbai hospital for nine years. On Wednesday, five of the 12 convicts who were found guilty of planting the bombs in the first-class compartments of Mumbai local trains that went off between Churchgate and Bhayander stations, were given the death sentence. The remaining seven were handed life terms by a Maharashtra special court. Yes, it will be a while before any of the convicts faces the hangman's noose, as the case still has some distance to cover within the legal system. Also, if the case of Yakub Memon, convicted for his role in the 1993 Bombay blasts case and hanged to death this July, is anything to go by, there will be appeals and counter-appeals till the very last minute. And to a certain extent, that is fine — every case must go through a rigorous process of investigation and prosecution, so that ultimately when a decision in made, there is no scope for allegation that an innocent man may have been hanged. In the 2006 bombing case especially, the anti-terrorism force had a tough time hunting down the perpetrators, and, as is only to be expected, there have been accusations from certain quarters that innocents may have been picked and set up. Though most of these allegations hold no water, if there are still any loose ends or discrepancies, they must be resolved. Additionally, the Government must also put in the effort to bring to trial the four Indian accused as well as the 17 Pakistani accused who are currently absconding. This includes the attack mastermind and former intelligence chief of the lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Azam Cheema. The 2006 bombing was one of the bloodiest terror attacks in India since independence — second, only to the 1993 blasts — and the case had to be taken to its logical conclusion.
Notably, on the same day that the Maharashtra special court announced its sentencing in the 2006 case, the Supreme Court also sentenced to life imprisonment a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist from Pakistan for his role in the 1995 Republic Day bomb blast in Jammu. Notably, the convict, Ghulam Nabi, had previously been acquitted by a lower court in 2009, but the apex court ruled that his confession to the investigating officials was sufficient proof for a conviction. While the two sentences being announced on the same day was, of course, a coincidence, when viewed together, they reinforce the message from the Indian state that terror attacks on the people will not be left unpunished. The state will hunt down terrorists and ensure that they get their just desserts.