HC Upholds Death For 5 Disukhnagar Blast Convicts

The Telangana High Court today upheld the death sentences awarded in 2016 to five Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives in connection with the 2013 Dilsukhnagar twin blasts, dismissing their appeals challenging the punishment.

The death penalty was upheld for the following individuals:

- Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi
- Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas
- Mohd Tahseen Akhtar alias Hassan
- Mohammed Ahmed Siddibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal
- Ajaz Shaikh alias Samar Armaan Tunde

The key accused, Riyaz Bhatkal, remains absconding.

A division bench comprising Justice K Lakshman and Justice P Sree Sudha rejected the criminal appeals filed by the five convicts, who were found guilty of orchestrating the blasts that claimed 18 lives and left over 100 people severely injured.

The convicts had approached the High Court seeking to overturn the death sentence awarded by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Hyderabad in December 2016.

For the unversed, on February 21, 2013, two powerful explosions rocked the bustling Dilsukhnagar market in Hyderabad, killing 18 people and injuring 131 others.

The bombs had been planted on bicycles.

The first blast occurred at 7:05 pm near the 107 bus stop in the Malakpet police jurisdiction. Minutes later, a second explosion went off about 200 metres away at the A1 Mirchi Centre, under the Saroornagar police limits of the then Cyberabad police commissionerate.

In response, the government deployed a National Security Guard (NSG) team to investigate the blasts.

Investigations by the NIA and NSG confirmed the involvement of the IM. IM member Maqbool had earlier informed the Delhi Police that he had surveyed Dilsukhnagar in 2012, lending further credence to the group's role in the attack.

On December 19, 2016, the special NIA court sentenced IM co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and the four others - Zia-ur-Rahman, Asadullah Akhtar, Tahseen Akhtar and Ajaz Shaikh - to death for planning and executing the blasts.

(With inputs from Times of India)