[JURIST] A special court in India handed down death sentences Wednesday to five individuals convicted in bomb blasts in Mumbai that killed 188 people in 2006. Special Judge Yatin D Shinde sentenced [Indian Express report] Kamal Ansari, Faisal Atur Rahman Shaikh, Ehtesham Siddiqui, Naveed Khan and Asif Khan to death and gave life sentences to seven others. They were found guilty [JURIST report] earlier this month of planting bombs in local trains, causing several explosions during peak hours while people were returning home from work. The court was specially convened under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Since India gained independence from Britain in 1947, the government has struggled with multiple rebel and terrorist organizations. Last month, the Indian government agreed to peace [JURIST report] with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland after 60 years of feuding. The month before Indian officials hanged Yakub Memon [JURIST report], a former accountant convicted in the 1993 Mumbai bombings. In January the Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned [JURIST report] the release of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, former head of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and alleged organizer of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 165 individuals.