Three sentenced to death for 1996 Lajpat Nagar blast

A city court on Thursday awarded death penalty to three convicts held guilty for murder in the 1996 Lajpat Nagar bomb blast that claimed 13 lives.

District and sessions judge SP Garg handed down life imprisonment to another accused convicted for murder.

A fifth accused convicted for lesser offence was awarded a jail term of four years and two months. A sixth convict was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.

Last week, the prosecution sought death penalty for the convicts while the defence pleaded for leniency and a sentence of life imprisonment for the four convicts held guilty for murder.

The defence sought life imprisonment on the ground that they had already spent 14 years in jail during the trial.

The blast took place May 2, 1996 evening in the busy Central Market area of Lajpat Nagar killing 13 people and injuring 39 others.