Retired Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhay Chudasama, a key member of the Ahmedabad Crime Branch team that investigated the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts, has described how the case was cracked through relentless fieldwork, nationwide inter-agency coordination, and a vast body of forensic and documentary evidence. His remarks came on Tuesday, 7 July, following the Gujarat High Court's decision to uphold death sentences for 38 convicts and life imprisonment for 11 others among the 49 accused in the case.

The Investigation Begins

Chudasama recalled that the Ahmedabad blasts of 2008 occurred in the shadow of a string of unsolved attacks across India. 'When the blasts took place in 2008, there had also been blasts in Jaipur just before the Ahmedabad attacks. Even before that, blasts had occurred in several other cities across India, but none of those cases had been solved,' he said.

The Ahmedabad Crime Branch responded by immediately forming multiple specialised investigation teams. According to Chudasama, the breakthrough came quickly. 'Within 20 days we managed to arrest several key accused and unravelled the entire case,' he said.

How the Evidence Was Built

Chudasama explained that investigators cast a wide evidential net, going well beyond documentary records. 'If they had rented houses, we collected evidence relating to those rentals. If they had purchased mobile phones, we collected evidence of those purchases. Wherever they had provided identification, we obtained evidence of that,' he said.

Hotel stay records, residential addresses, and mobile phone call data were all examined. 'Their mobile phone records also provided us with a great deal of information, helping us identify where their links extended across India,' Chudasama added. The chargesheet, he said, ultimately became 'a solid and strong case' precisely because of the breadth of evidence compiled.

Unravelling the Indian Mujahideen Network

The interrogation of the arrested accused proved to be a turning point not just for the Ahmedabad case, but for counter-terrorism investigations nationwide. 'During the interrogation of these accused, all the bomb blasts carried out by the Indian Mujahideen across the country were detected,' Chudasama said. The Crime Branch worked continuously for four months, filed all charge sheets, and appointed four different investigating officers for distinct aspects of the probe.

Notably, the intelligence gathered helped link previously unconnected blast cases in other cities — a significant outcome that had eluded investigators until the Ahmedabad probe. 'We also gathered a great deal of information from across India that had not previously been linked together,' he said.

Years of Sustained Follow-Up

Chudasama emphasised that the work did not end with the arrests. The investigation team maintained active engagement through the trial and appellate stages, coordinating with police forces and security agencies across the country. 'Even after that, when the matter went into appeal, continuous follow-up was maintained,' he said, adding that cooperation from police forces nationwide was 'considerable.'

The special court convicted all 49 accused in February 2022, after examining thousands of documents and witnesses. The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday upheld that verdict in full.

Court Verdict and Compensation

The Gujarat High Court confirmed the death penalty for 38 convicts and life imprisonment for the remaining 11. The court also directed compensation of ₹10 lakh to the families of those killed in the blasts, ₹5 lakh to victims who suffered grievous injuries, and ₹1 lakh to those who sustained simple injuries.

With the High Court's ruling now on record, the case moves toward potential further legal challenges — and stands as one of the most extensively documented terrorism prosecutions in India's post-2000 judicial history.