Hyderabad: The NIA Special Court of New Delhi sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment four Indian Mujahideen operatives for conspiring to carry out large-scale bomb blasts in Hyderabad and other parts of the country, with support from Pakistan-based terror outfits.
In 2007, security agencies thwarted the conspiracy and arrested the four convicts, identified as Obaid-Ur-Rehman of Hyderabad, Danish Ansari of Darbhanga and Aftab Alam of Purnea in Bihar. Imran Khan of Nanded in Maharashtra was arrested in 2013.
The accused were in close association with IM members, including Pakistan-based key accused Riyaz Bhatkal and Yasin Bhatkal. They had also done recce of important places in Hyderabad and Delhi, and had also procured explosives, as well as arms and ammunition, to execute attacks and carry out blasts.
NIA said the Indian Mujahideen has been responsible for carrying out various blasts in the country, including Varanasi blasts of March 2006, Mumbai serial blasts of July 2006, UP courts serial blasts at Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow blasts in November 2007, Hyderabad twin blasts of August 2007, besides the Jaipur serial blasts, Delhi serial blasts and the Ahmedabad serial blasts in 2008.
The IM was also behind the Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bengaluru) blast of 2010 and the Hyderabad twin blasts of 2013, they said.
The court found the accused guilty and convicted them on July 7. The court on Monday pronounced the sentence and also imposed a fine of ₹2,000 on accused Danish Ansari and ₹10,000 on Aftab Alam.
The Special Court had earlier framed charges against the four, along with seven others, in March 2023. The other seven have been identified as Yasin Bhatkal, Asadullah Akhtar, Zia-Ur-Rehman, Tehsin Akhter and Hyder Ali. The trial against them is continuing, NIA said.
