Court sentences two to death for role in 1993 India blasts

An Indian court has sentenced two men to death and another two to life in prison for a series of bombings in 1993 that killed 257 people in western city of Mumbai.

The four Indian men had earlier been convicted of criminal conspiracy and murder in the planting of 12 powerful bombs in cars, scooters and suitcases around India's financial capital.

Thursday's sentencing ended a second trial related to the bombings. A first trial ended in 2007 with more than 100 people convicted, of which 11 were sentenced to be executed while the rest were given various terms in prison.

Decades old case

Prosecutors in the 24-year-old case said that the bombings were an act of revenge for the riots in the city in which a large number of Muslims were killed sparked by the 1992 demolition of a 16th-century Babri mosque by Hindu far-right groups in northern India.

In June, a court had ruled six men guilty of involvement in the blasts that shook Mumbai more than two decades ago, but one died in prison before sentencing.

Another convict Yakub Menon was hanged in July 2015 triggering a great deal of debate on the issue of the death penalty with campaigners calling for a ban.

According to the English language channel NDTV, one of the convicted, Abu Salem, was extradited from Portugal in 2005 "and cannot be sentenced to death because of a guarantee to the Portuguese."