Serial bombings: The face of Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and 10 other accused have had a lifetime imprisonment sentence slapped on them by an Indore District Court today. Nagori was accused of being the mastermind behind the 2008 back-to-back serial bombings across cities-the actual bombings were allegedly carried out by the Indian Mujaheddin. The death toll in the attacks, carried out on July 26, 2008, was 57 people. Nagori had been lodged at Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad for a long period before he was sentenced.

According to the Indian Express, before students’ outfit SIMI was banned in 2001, a case was registered against Nagori in Ujjain’’s Mahakal Police Station way back in 1997. Thereafter, he was declared an absconder on December 11, 2000.

Serial blasts in Ahmedabad carried out on July 26 was part of a larger conspiracy, hatched by IM and SIMI in order to foment terror in Gujarat to avenge the 2002 post-Godhra riots killings of Muslims. According to ATS officials before the bombings, the terrorists had organised training camps at Pavagadh in Gujarat, Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh and Waghamon in Kerala. The IM had taken responsibility for the blasts. As many as 74 people had been chargesheeted.