Hyderabad twin bomb blasts: At Rs 7.4 cr, bill for housing 5 blast accused mounting

Hyderabad: For over 32 months, the TS government has spent Rs 7.47 crore on guarding the five accused in the Lumbini Park-Gokul Chat blast cases who have been lodged in isolated units in Chanchalguda and Cherlapally Central prisons. Their food bill amounted to about Rs 6 lakh for two years and eight months, according to data provided in response to an RTI query filed by this correspondent. This expense excludes the multiple trips from the prisons to the Nampally Court for the trial and also visits to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad where the five are accused in other terror and arms cases.

If the travel cum security arrangements are taken into consideration, the sum would again run into crores. Ironically, the blast victims with organ losses continue to fight for compensation of Rs 20 lakh even 11 years after the blast while crores are spent over guarding the five who are accused of killing 44 innocent people and leaving 65, including children, students and women, critically injured. 

The four suspects Md. Sadiq Israr Ahmed Shai, Akbar Ismai Chowdary, Anik Shafique Sayeed and Farooq Shafuddin Tankash were involved in the twin blasts at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat. While the fifth suspect, Md. Tarique Anjum Ashan, was involved in the third IED case which was defused by the police at Dilsukhnagar foot-over-bridge. The five were brought to the Central prison at Chanchalguda on December 4, 2015. Since then, they have been kept in isolated cells . 

According to the information gathered, Chanchalguda prison has isolated 20, 8x10 sqft, high security cells with attached bathrooms. Out of 20 cells, nine are occupied by accused to be ISI agents and five were earlier occupied by the twin blast perpetrators before they were moved to Cherlapally on June 23, 2015.

 Eight guards watched over the suspects for 29 months and 22 days at a cost of Rs 30,000 per month at Chanchalguda. After they were shifted to Cherlapally in June this year, two round-the-clock security men now guard them. The total expenditure incurred is Rs 7.47 crore. Also each prisoner’s daily food expense, including milk and non-vegetarian meal on Sundays, amounts to Rs 125. This per day charge includes a bed, blanket, towel, soap and hair oil. The expenditure on food for 32 months summed up to Rs 6 lakh. This excludes electricity bill, cable charge for television and two phone calls made to family members.