The Telangana high court on Tuesday upheld the death penalty awarded by a trial court to five operatives of banned terror outfit, Indian Mujahideen, in connection with the 2013 twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad that claimed 18 lives and left scores injured.
A bench of justices K Lakshman and P Sree Sudha delivered the judgment after exhaustive hearing on the criminal revision appeals made by the accused challenging the December 13, 2016 verdict of a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court. The bench upheld the special court’s order, describing it as a fit case for capital punishment.
The court dismissed the appeals filed by the five convicts —IM co-founder Mohammed Ahmed Sidibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal, Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahaseen Akhtar alias Monu and Ajaz Shaikh.
“The state high court delivered the judgment today, confirming the verdict passed by the NIA court in December 2016. We are going to appeal against the high court order in the Supreme Court as we believe in the justice system of our country,” advocate Mohd Shujaullah Khan, representing one of the accused, told reporters.
Two back-to-back bomb explosions rocked the Dilsukhnagar area in Hyderabad on the evening of February 21, 2013. The blasts — first at a bus stop in the busy market area of Dilsukhnagar and the second at a nearby road-side eatery (A1 Mirchi Centre) — claimed 18 lives and left another 131 people injured.
After preliminary investigations by the Hyderabad police, the Centre on March 13, 2013, transferred the case to NIA, which filed multiple charge sheets against the accused. The prime accused in the case, Mohammed Riyaz alias Riyaz Bhatkal, has been absconding and NIA did not include him in its charge sheets.
In the December 2016 judgment, the special NIA court handed death penalty to the five accused, who challenged the order in the high court.
After exhaustive trial, the high court bench observed in its ruling: “Having given due consideration to all the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, we are of the firm view that this is a fit case wherein the death penalty awarded by the learned Sessions Court needs to be confirmed.”
Relatives and friends of some of the victims celebrated the verdict by distributing sweets on the court premises.
“Better late than never. The high court’s verdict has come as big relief and rendered justice to the victims,” K Pandu Reddy, owner of the A1 Mirchi Centre, where one of the bomb blasts took place, told reporters.
He said his brother-in-law Bakka Reddy suffered injuries in the explosion at his eatery, where 14 people died. “We are happy that the high court has delivered the judgement after a prolonged trial of nine years,” he added.
Union coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy also welcomed the judgment, saying death sentence is the only punishment for the terrorists.
“It has once again proved that there is no place for terrorism and violence in democracy,” Reddy, who is also the Telangana BJP chief said, adding the Union government will stand with the families of the victims by all means.
