Mirza Himayat Baig, the lone convicted accused in the Pune German Bakery blast case, was today sentenced to death by a Pune Sessions Court. The blast had left 17 dead including five foreigners and 64 wounded at the popular eatery on February 13th, 2010.Additional Sessions Judge N P Dhote handed down capital punishment to Baig for murder and criminal conspiracy, besides under provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Explosive Substances Act. The court had on April 15th pronounced Baig, the only person arrested in the blasts , guilty of involvement in the crime. The punishment was announced after the judge heard arguments of defence and prosecution on the quantum of sentence.

The court had accepted the prosecution's contention that it was a carefully planned and executed attack calculated to terrorise the public in general by causing extensive damage to life and property.The judge also upheld the prosecution charge that the terror attack was specially designed to cause damage to the lives of foreign nationals visiting the country and its reputation on the matter of security.

LeT operative David Headley, in his testimony before a Chicago court in the trial of his accomplice Tahawwur Rana, had admitted that he had recced and taken photographs of the popular hang-out.

Baig is the only accused arrested and convicted out of the seven charge-sheeted in the case. The five absconding accused are Yasin Bhatkal, Mohsin Chaudhary, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal and Fayyaz Kazgi. Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, one of the handlers of 26/11 terrorists facing trial in other terror-related cases, has not been arrested in the German Bakery case. All the accused have links to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba or home-grown terror outfit Indian Mujahideen.