Justice eludes Dilsukhnagar blasts victims

Hyderabad: The Terrorist Bomb Blast Victims Association on Thursday conducted a remembrance meet in front of the Konark theatre at Dilsukhnagar to pay homage to the victims of the Dilsukhnagar twin bomb blasts. Thursday marked the sixth anniversary of the tragic twin blasts that went off at the busy shopping area of Dilsukhnagar on February 21, 2013. The two bomb blasts triggered by Indian Mujahideen terrorists in the busy Dilsukhnagar area killed 18 innocent people and injured 140 pedestrians and sent shockwaves across the twin cities.

While the rest of the city managed to move on from this tragic day, its memories still haunt the survivors and the bereaved families of the victims. As a mark of respect and to remember February 21 twin blasts, ‘Terrorist Bomb Blast Victims Association’ was founded in 2015. The association remembered and paid homage to the victims who lost their lives and for those who lost their livelihood after sustaining grievous injuries in the tragic bomb blasts at Dilsukhnagar and Gokul Chat.

L B Nagar MLA Sudhir Reddy paid tributes to the deceased and raised slogans against Pakistan for harbouring the terrorists. Speaking on the occasion, Sudheer Reddy demanded that the Centre eradicate terrorism on the country’s soil by waging a war with the neighbouring country. The members of the Bomb Blast Victims Association paid tributes to the deceased at the Konark theatre and bemoaned that they were not receiving assistance from the State government.

Recalling the tragic day, one of the victims Yadaiah Goud (45), a native of Mahbubnagar district and now a resident of Champapet, said that as he sustained grievous injuries to his backbone, he cannot walk or stand by himself without any help and due to the displacement of his left hand, doctors had to place a rod. He cannot lift any weights even of one kilogram.

Speaking to The Hans India, Yadaiah said, “I went nearby Venkatadri theatre on some personal work, I just parked my two-wheeler and moved four steps when suddenly a huge sound went off due to which I fell unconscious. When I regained my senses, I was in a hospital with serious wounds, blood and a big iron nail infiltrated into my backbone, due to which now I can’t stand or walk properly since the incident in 2013.”

Most feel that justice continues to elude though five operatives of Indian Mujahideen (IM) were given death sentence in the case. In 2016, the special court for NIA cases had pronounced the sentence against IM operatives. However, prime accused Riyaz Bhatkal, continues to be at large.
While the victims deplore the delay in executing the sentence, the officials said the operatives were lodged in various prisons in the country as the cases were pending against them in blasts that took places in different cities.

After the blast, though the government had promised to bear the expenses in treatment of the injured, a majority of them claim to have met or continue to meet the medical expenses on their own in absence of the government follow-up on the issue.Yadaiah said that the then government of Kiran Kumar Reddy provided medical assistance and Rs 20,000 for per injured but later washed off their hands. “ It costs me Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 per month for just medicines.

Once I met Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao with the help of former Kalwakurthy MLA Jaipal Yadav in 2015 and submitted a letter requesting a proper assistance to create a livelihood for my family to which he said ok, but I received no help from the State till now,” he added. Yadaiah urged the government, “even though it’s late but at least now provide some assistance so I can create a livelihood by giving a suitable job in government sector as I have done Masters in Telugu (Distance Education) or at least providing help to start a general store to support my family.”

-Madhu Yadav