Indian court sentences 2 men to death in 1993 Mumbai blasts

An Indian court on Thursday sentenced two men to death and two others to life in prison for a series of bombings that killed 257 people in Mumbai in 1993. A fifth man was given 10 years in prison.

The five men were convicted earlier of criminal conspiracy and murder in the planting of 12 powerful bombs in cars, scooters and suitcases around India’s financial capital.

The sentencing ended a second trial related to the bombings. An initial trial ended in 2007 with more than 100 people convicted, of whom 11 were sentenced to death and the rest to various terms in prison.

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt freed from jail in weapons case

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt said freedom was "the most amazing thing" after he left prison Thursday upon completing his five-year sentence for illegal weapons possession in a case linked to the 1993 terror attack in Mumbai.

Dutt's wife Maanyata and noted filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani greeted the actor as he came out of the prison gate in the western city of Pune. He saluted the Indian national flag at the prison building and thanked fans, including some who came in person to see him, for their support. "There is no easy walk to freedom, my friend," he told reporters before leaving in a chartered plane.

Pakistan court suspends detention of Mumbai attack planner

A Pakistani court Monday suspended a detention order keeping the alleged planner of the Mumbai terror attacks in jail, possibly paving the way for his release, officials said.

The prospect of Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi going free presents an embarrassing turn of events for the Pakistani government that has vowed to crack down hard on militancy following the Dec. 16 Taliban school attack in Peshawar that left at least 148 people dead, mostly schoolchildren. It also raises the prospect of a serious political conflict with India, which has long-accused Islamabad of being soft on its home-grown militants.

Lakhvi is one of seven men on trial in Pakistan in connection with the 2008 attack in the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people.