RAWALPINDI, March 14: An anti-terrorism court on Monday sentenced to death a man on 40 counts for his role in the 2007 suicide attack on the official bus of an intelligence agency.

Special Judge ATC-III Rana Nisar Ahmed convicted Umer Adeel, a resident of Islamabad in his late 20s, for dropping the suicide bomber near the bus in Qasim Market on the morning of September 4, 2007. The trial of Adeel was held in Adiala Jail.

The court handed down death sentence on 20 counts for conspiring to kill 20 personnel of the intelligence agency and 20 more counts under the anti-terrorism laws for spreading terror, along with 30 years rigorous imprisonment and Rs6 million fine.

Four years ago on the morning of September 4, two simultaneous suicide attacks rocked Rawalpindi's cantonment and killed 27 people.

According to the prosecution, Adeel and another man Nafeesur Rehman hired a Mehran car and dropped the suicide bomber who carried out the attack on the bus. R A Bazaar police traced the car, saying it was hired by Adeel. He was seen by two policemen on the spot of the suicide attack.

The convict was arrested in July 2008 from Misrial Road near Baraf Khana Chowk and two live grenades were recovered from him. The two policemen recognised Adeel during identification parade in the jail. Nafees has been declared proclaimed offender by the court.

On the other hand Advocate Shaukat Aziz Siddiqi maintained before the court that the intelligence agencies took away Adeel, a graduate, from his house in Islamabad on November 22, 2007.

The abduction was reported to the police, the defence lawyer said. Adeel was working in a private company at the time of his arrest.

After seven months, he said Adeel was handed over to the police in Rawalpindi, saying he was arrested with explosives. Later, he said his client was implicated in the case of suicide attack, the lawyer said. Advocate Siddiqi plans to challenge Adeel's conviction and sentence in the high court.