2 convicted in 2007 Hyderabad twin blasts case to be sentenced today

Hyderabad: A metropolitan court will Monday pronounce the quantum of punishment for the two Indian Mujahideen operatives convicted in the 2007 Hyderabad blasts case.

Two powerful explosions had ripped through a popular eatery and an open air theatre in Hyderabad on August 25, 2007, killing 44 people and wounding 68.

On September 4, Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge (in-charge) T Srinivas Rao pronounced Aneeq Shafique Sayeed and Mohammed Akbar Ismail Chowdhari guilty in the 11-year-old case, but acquitted Farooq Sharfuddin Tarkash and Mohammed Sadiq Israr Ahmed Shaik for want of enough evidence.

The quantum of punishment, as also the judgement on the fifth accused Tarik Anjum, accused of harbouring the perpetrators in New Delhi and other places, will be pronounced Monday by the special court set up on the premises of Cherlapalli Central Prison, where they are currently lodged.

The prosecution will seek capital punishment for the convicts, said Special Public Prosecutor C Seshu Reddy, who represented the Counter Intelligence wing of the Telangana Police, which had investigated the case and arrested the five accused.

However, the defence counsels said they would challenge the verdict in the high court.

Another Public Prosecutor K Surender said the two men -- Aneeq and Chowdhari -- were found guilty of carrying out blasts at Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park and also in connection with the recovery of the unexploded bomb from under a foot over bridge in the Dilsukh Nagar area.

The two men were found guilty of murder and under various other sections of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Arms Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the prosecutors said.

Two synchronised blasts at Gokul Chaat, a popular eatery on August 25 2007, killed 32 people and left 47 injured, and an open air theatre in Lumbini Park close to the state secretariat where 12 people died and 21 wounded.

Three other accused named in the chargesheets filed by police, including "Indian Mujahideen" founder Riyaz Bhatkal, his brother Iqbal, and Amir Reza Khan are absconding.

The Bhatkal brothers of Karnataka are believed to have taken shelter in Pakistan.

The trial against five accused in the case was shifted to a court hall located on the premises of Cherlapalli Central Prison from a court located in Nampally Court complex in June this year.

Two of those acquitted face some other cases in Maharashtra.