Hyderabad twin blasts case: Two get death, one life term

HYDERABAD: TWO POWERFUL EXPLOSIONS HAD RIPPED THROUGH A POPULAR EATERY AND AN OPEN AIR THEATRE IN THE ANDHRA CAPITAL ON AUGUST 25, 2007, KILLING 44 PEOPLE AND WOUNDING OVER 50

A Hyderabad court on Monday sentenced two Indian Mujahideen operatives to death and awarded life imprisonment to a third for their role in the Hyderabad twin blasts case that left 44 people dead and over 50 injured in August 2007.

Second additional metropolitan sessions judge T Srinivasa Rao sentenced prime accused Mohammed Akbar Ismail Chowdhari and Aneeq Shafique Sayeed to death by hanging. Mohammad Tareeq Anjum was awarded life imprisonment for providing shelter to the accused in Delhi after the explosions.

The twin explosions at Gokul Chat Bhandar, a popular eatery in the Koti area, and Lumbini Park, a recreation centre in front of the state secretariat, took place on August 25, 2007. Thirtyfour people died at the eatery and 10 in the explosion at Lumbini Park, which took place within a few minutes.

Two other accused – Mohammad Sadiq Israr and Farooq Sharfuddin Tarkash – were acquitted for want of evidence.

Telangana police’s counterintelligence wing investigated the case and arrested the five men, suspected to be linked to the banned Indian Mujahideen (IM), in 2010. In all, eight people were charge-sheeted in the case.

The remaining three accused – Riyaz Bhatal, Iqbal Bhatkal and Amir Riza Khan – are still at large.

The accused were charged under section 302 (murder) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Explosive Substances Act in connection with the twin blasts and also the recovery of an unexploded bomb found under a foot overbridge in Hyderabad’s Dilsukhnagar area.