Telangana HC upholds death penalty for five in 2013 Hyderabad bomb blasts case

Hyderabad, April 8
The Telangana High Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence to five convicts, including the banned Indian Mujahideen's (IM) co-founder Yaseen Bhatkal and a Pakistani national, in the 2013 Hyderabad bomb blasts.

A division bench of Justice K. Lakshman and Justice P. Sree Sudhha dismissed the appeals filed by the convicts challenging the order of a special NIA court pronounced in 2016

Apart from Bhatkal alias Ahmed Siddibappa Zaraar and Pakistani national Zia ur Rehman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu, and Aizaz Saeed Shaik alias Aijaz Shaikh were sentenced by the NIA court for offences, including waging war against the nation, criminal conspiracy and murder.

The twin blasts in the Dilsukhnagar area of Hyderabad on February 21, 2013, killed 18 persons, including one unborn child in a mother's womb, and injured 131 others

All five were convicted for offences, including waging war against the nation, criminal conspiracy and murder

The death sentence was pronounced under sections 302 A and 121 of the Indian Penal Code, section 3B Explosive Substance Act and section 16 of the Unlawful Activities Act.

The counsel for one of the convicts, Aijaz Shaikh, said they would file an appeal in the Supreme Court. He said they would file an appeal after going through the High Court order.

Two of the convicts are lodged in Cherlapally Jail in Hyderabad, while others are lodged in other jails in the country as they are facing trial in other terror cases.

Yaseen Bhatkal is brother of Riyaz Bhatkal, the brain behind the blasts and the main accused, who is absconding and suspected to be hiding in Pakistan. The NIA has already issued an Interpol Red Corner notice for him.

Bhatkal brothers are from Bhatkal town of Karnataka, while Rehman is from Mustafabad of Pakistan's Punjab province, Asadullah Akhtar from Uttar Pradesh while Tahseen Akhtar and Aizaz Saeed are residents of Bihar and Maharashtra respectively.

During the hearing on the appeals by the convicts in the High Court, the counsel of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) defended the death penalty on the ground that the accused planned and executed bomb blasts, killing many people and later went on to carry out another bombing.

The investigating agency had filed three charge sheets in the case. Charges were framed against the five accused on July 16, 2015 and the trial commenced on August 24 the same year.

The prosecution examined a total of 157 witnesses during the trial.

The two blasts, with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), occurred within a span of six seconds at a distance of 100 meters in crowded places in the shopping area Dilsukhnagar on the evening of February 21, 2013. While the first blast took place at the 107 bus stop in Dilsukhnagar, the second was near A1 Mirchi Centre.