MUMBAI, Feb 15: Indian prosecutors sought the death sentence on Thursday for 44 people convicted of carrying out a series of bombings in Mumbai in 1993 and life terms for another 45 for complicity.

The prosecution also asked for a maximum punishment of up to 10 years in prison for Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt for buying illegal arms from the gangsters involved in the bombings that killed 257 people.

Police said the multiple attacks on the Bombay Stock Exchange, a cinema and a crowded market were plotted by India's most wanted man, Dawood Ibrahim, to avenge the razing of a historic mosque by Hindu zealots in 1992.

Indian officials say Ibrahim, a Muslim, is believed to be hiding in Pakistan.

The court last year found 100 people, mostly Muslims, guilty in connection with the blasts but set another 23 free.—Reuters