Among accused facing death penalty in 2008 serial blasts case – Cleric, journalism student, trader

4 min readVadodaraUpdated: Jul 8, 2026 02:42 AM IST

The Gujarat module comprised Zahid Sheikh , Imran Ibrahim Sheikh , Iqbal Qasam Sheikh, Shamshuddin Shahbuddin Sheikh , Gyasuddin Abdul Alim Ansari , Mohammad Arif Kagzi, Yunus Mohammed Bhai Mansuri, Abbas Sameja , Javed Ahmed Sheikh and Mohammad Ismail Mansuri. Most of these men were employed in shops.

(File)

THE 38 accused whose sentences were confirmed by the Gujarat High Court were based out of six states, owing allegiance to Indian Mujahideen who had allegedly conspired to plant bombs in Ahmedabad and Surat.

On July 26, boat-shaped bombs went off at 22 places in Ahmedabad killing 56, while at least 29 similar bombs were discovered in Surat between July 27 and August 9 that did not go off.

Among the accused facing the gallows is Safdar Nagori, (Ujjain) former chief of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), who held a journalism degree. Identified as the network’s “principal organiser” and allegedly ran training camps in Kerala and Karnataka.

Mufti Abu Bashir (Azamgarh), a madrasa teacher, was the “ideological force” behind the network.

Qayamuddin Kapadia (Vadodara), a trader, and marketing professional Sajid Mansoori (Bharuch) provided “logistic support”  in Gujarat.

Former DGP Ashish Bhatia. who led the investigations as the Joint Commissioner (Crime) in 2008, says his team had joined all the dots in the case including finding the “bomb factory” in Ahmedabad’s Dani Limda area.

“Our investigations had revealed they had made the explosives using ammonium nitrate and fuel oil popularly called ANFO”, says Bhatia.

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‘Bomb makers’

As per the investigations, a Maharashtra-based technical module assembled the bombs.

This included Mohammad Akbar Ismail Chaudhari,  a computer and IT expert and Aasif Hasan Sheikh, both from Pune.

Afzal Usmani ( Mumbai) allegedly  drove a stolen car packed with explosives into the parking lot of the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital trauma centre. The bomb exploded after the earlier blasts had brought victims, doctors and rescuers to the hospital, killing 37 people and crippling the city’s emergency response.

Nagori, Bashir, Kapadia, Mansoori, Chaudhari, Sheikh and Usmani are on death row.

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The Rajasthan module, led by Atik-Ur-Rehman) included Mehndihasan Ansari, a tailor, and Imran Ahmed from Madhya Pradesh, the police arrested Mohammad Ali.  Rafiuddin Kapadia – Qayamuddin’s brother, a trader, is accused of arranging safe houses and storage, while Mohammad Rafiq, a local mechanic, procured the bicycles used to carry several of the IEDs.

All of these men have been awarded life imprisonment, upheld by the Gujarat High court on Tuesday.

The Sleeper Cell

The Uttar Pradesh network included Saif-ur-Rehman Ansari , Mohammad Tanveer Pathan , Zeeshan Ahmed , Zia-ur-Rehman , Mohammad Shakeel, Mohammad Aarif Mirza  and Mohammad Saif– all of whom are on the death row. Most of these were students

The Gujarat module comprised Zahid Sheikh , Imran Ibrahim Sheikh , Iqbal Qasam Sheikh, Shamshuddin Shahbuddin Sheikh , Gyasuddin Abdul Alim Ansari , Mohammad Arif Kagzi, Yunus Mohammed Bhai Mansuri, Abbas Sameja , Javed Ahmed Sheikh and Mohammad Ismail Mansuri. Most of these men were employed in shops.

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Mohammad Usman Agarbattiwala, who ran a business of incense sticks, from Vadodara, was found to have facilitated the weapons supply chain.

Others in the plot were Qamruddin alias Raja Mohammad  and Aamil Parvaz in Madhya Pradesh, Shibli alias Sabit Abdulkarim – a diploma holder in Computer engineering and Saduli alias Harees Abdul Karim) in Kerala, Hafizhussein alias Adnan and Ahmed Bawa alias Abu  in Karnataka, Sarquddin alias Sharif Sattar  in Hyderabad, and Mohammad Arif alias Arif Badar alias Ladan Sheikh  alongside Fazal-e-Rehman alias Salauddin in Maharashtra  – all of whom have been awarded the death penalty.

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Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.

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