Coimbatore will be under a tight security cover on Wednesday when a special court pronounces sentences for the 70 people convicted of criminal conspiracy and murder charges in the 1998 serial blasts case.

The founder-leader of the proscribed Al-Umma S A Basha and its general secretary Mohammed Ansari are among the 70 convicts.

Of the 166 arrested in connection with the blasts, 158 have been convicted and eight others, including Kerala-based PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madhani, acquitted as charges against them were not proved. The blasts were triggered on February 14, 1998, during the visit of Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani and they claimed 58 lives.

Eighty-eight people convicted of minor charges like attempt to murder and possessing explosives were sentenced to undergo imprisonment ranging from 21 months to nine years. As they had already served their prison term as undertrials, the judge had ordered their release.

Tight security cover will be in place in and around the city in view of the pronouncement of the sentence and movement of public and vehicles will be restricted around the court.

Armed guards will be posted in sensitive places and also at places of worship, besides intensifying vehicle checks on border areas. Pickets will be set up at vantage points and mobile patrolling intensified, police said.

Apart from the usual strength, additional forces will be deployed in sensitive pockets of the district, police added.