Twin blasts: Court convicts 2, acquits 2

​Hyderabad: At last, the long-delayed justice to the victims of twin blasts that took place at Gokul Chat eatery, which killed 32 people and left 47 injured, and at the open air theatre at Lumbini Park in August 2007, in which 12 others died and 21 were injured, was finally delivered on Tuesday, with the conviction of two of the five accused in the case. 

Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge T Srinivas Rao who presided over the special National Investigation Agency Court, which was located on the premises of Cherlapally Central Prison where accused were tried, pronounced the judgement. 

In his oral order, the Judge pronounced A1 Aniq Shafeeq Ahmed and A2 Akber Ismail Choudhury as convicts for planting bombs in the Lumbini Park and the Gokul Chat eatery respectively. 

However, the court did not find merit in the arguments of the prosecution against the other two accused, A5 Farooq Sharifuddin and A6 Mohd Sadiq Israr Ahmed, and, hence, they were acquitted. The court postponed its pronouncement of verdict in the case of A3 Tareeq Anjum to Monday, September 10. 

The case was entrusted to Counter Intelligence (CI) wing of the Telangana State Police, who investigated the case and arrested five accused, allegedly having links with the terrorist outfit of Indian Mujahideen. The accused were charged under Section 302 and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code. 

Relevant sections under Explosive Substances Act were also invoked in connection with the twin blasts. The agency had also filed four charge sheets before the court against the five accused. Two accused, Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal, who are alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives, are absconding. 

The accused were earlier produced before the Sessions Judge T Srinivas Rao on 27 August via video conferencing. The Judge after hearing both the parties posted the matter for the final verdict to be delivered on Tuesday, September 4. 
Speaking to The Hans India, Special Public Prosecutor Sesha Reddy informed that the court had posted the matter for written order and for pronouncing quantum of punishment to September 10.

Send them to gallows
The kin of the victims of Gokul Chat blast demanded that capital punishment be meted out to the convicts. One of the injured in the blast, Sadashiva Reddy, a resident of Saroornagar, hoped the culprits would be shown no leniency given the gravity of the incident. 

They deserve nothing but hanging, he said. Reddy could not speak because the blast had impaired his speech – he communicated through gestures. His parents Mohan Reddy and Vasantha too demanded that the culprits be handed out a stringent punishment.

Syed Rahim who lost his left eye, R Chander Naik who lost his right eye, Joshi Narasimha Sharma, who lost his elder daughter Pratyusha, 20, B Anjaiah who lost three persons in his family including his younger daughter Sravanthi,14, all wanted the convicts be hanged.

People all over the city who watched the verdict with bated breath, including the owners of Gokul Chat, wished that the court would hand out stringent punishment to them.