A Special MCOCA Court on Tuesday sentenced 26/11 plotter Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal and six others to life imprisonment till death in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case.
Two others have been sentenced to life imprisonment and three others were awarded eight years jail term, besides penalties.
Judge S.L. Anekar, who had found the 12 accused guilty on July 28, announced the quantum of punishment on Tuesday at a packed courtroom. Eight others in the case were acquitted.
While the MCOCA charges were dropped against all of them, the convicts were found guilty under different sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Explosives Act, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Indian Penal Code, according to a report in the Times of India.
Special judge S L Anekar observed that the cache of 43kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles, 3,200 live cartridges and 50 hand grenades were procured from Pakistan and were meant for attacks on then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi and VHP leader Pravin Togadia in retaliation for the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Following a tip-off in 2006, the state ATS had conducted a chase and intercepted arms and ammunition on a highway near Aurangabad.
(With IANS Inputs)