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Muslim bomber guilty of killing 17

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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- An Indian court found Mohammed Ghansar guilty of murder Thursday for his role in a string of bombings that blasted through the country's commercial capital, Mumbai, 13 years ago, killing 257 people.

Ghansar, who could face the death penalty, was convicted of killing 17 people by planting a scooter rigged with explosives in a crowded marketplace.

He has been held without bail since he was arrested shortly after the March 12, 1993 attacks.

In the expansive case involving 123 men and women, most of them Muslims, the judge will release verdicts over a series of weeks.

Four people have already been found guilty in the case, while four others were acquitted Tuesday.

Seven other defendants accused of planting bombs were set to hear their verdicts Thursday.

Among the accused is one of Bollywood's best-known actors, Sanjay Dutt.

Dutt, 47, is accused of receiving an AK-47-style assault rifle from an alleged plotter and spent more than a year in jail. If convicted he could serve five years.

Out on bail since the mid 80s, Dutt recently starred in a film that opened last month -- "Shoot out at Lokhandwala."

The case involves the country's deadliest string of attacks, which were believed to have been carried out in revenge for the demolition of a 16th century mosque in northern India by Hindu nationalists. The mosque's destruction unleashed a wave of violence that left hundreds dead.

CNN New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra contributed to this report

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