An Indian court yesterday found four members of a Muslim family, including a woman, guilty in the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai that resulted in the death of 257 people.
These were the first convictions in one of the world's longest trials.
Three brothers of Tiger Memon -- a fugitive underworld figure who was allegedly behind the serial blasts -- were the first to be convicted after a marathon trial that went ahead despite the absence of two key players in the dock.
Memon's brothers were convicted under the Indian anti-terrorism laws of abetting the attack.
However, they were not among the list of individuals who have been accused of planting the bombs that caused extensive destruction in the country's financial capital.
The Mumbai court found three other members of the Memon family not guilty, public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told reporters.
The verdicts against the other 116 defendants -- including Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt -- will be handed down in batches in the coming weeks, Nikam quoted the judge as saying.
The sentences will be announced after all the verdicts have been delivered.
The Memons were among the main accused in the case.
The series of 13 blasts in the country's financial hub, with targets including the Bombay Stock Exchange building, the headquarters of the state-owned Air India, a movie theater and a busy market, were the deadliest bomb attacks in India's history.
The trial, which for security reasons is being held in a court located inside a prison complex, opened in 1994, but hearings began in earnest only the following year.
A total of 686 witnesses have been heard over more than a decade of hearings.
Most prominent among the defendants is the actor Sanjay Dutt, who was arrested after two suspects in the bombings said he had bought an assault rifle from them.
The actor was freed on bail after serving more than a year in prison.
Indian authorities say Dawood Ibrahim, an alleged Mumbai mafia don who they believe is now in exile in Pakistan, had masterminded the attacks.
It is believed that the attacks were launched in retaliation for the destruction, in 1992, of a 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya by Hindu extremists in Uttar Pradesh, along with subsequent deadly clashes between Hindus and Muslims.
Ibrahim and his associates never faced trial, having fled the country soon after the blasts, investigators said.
Authorities say the bombings had received substantial funding from abroad, but no clear links to Pakistan have been established to date.
It is believed that the attacks were orchestrated by criminal elements in cooperation with Islamic militants.
Of the 123 defendants, 11 have died during the trial, 36 are in jail and the remainder are out on bail.
Another 37 suspects, including Ibrahim, have been declared "absconders" or are on the run.
New Delhi has repeatedly asked Islamabad to hand over Ibrahim and his associates.
Pakistan, however, denies that they are on its territory.
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