Above: File picture of Lumbini Park where bomb blasts happened
One more accused in Hyderabad twin blasts case, has been convicted of harbouring and sheltering the seven main accused by the special court at the Cherlapally Central Prison. Tariq Anjum was not charged with the others for the blasts, but his case was being heard parallelly by the court. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced later today.
Later today, the court will also pronounce the quantum of sentence of Aneeq Shafique Sayeed and Ismail Chaudhary, who were already convicted last week for their role in the blasts. On September 4, a special court set up in Cherlapally Central Prison found both Aneeq Shafique and Ismail Chaudhary guilty, and two others — Farooq Sharfuddin Tarkish and Mohd Sadiq Israr Shaik – were acquitted. On August 25, 2007, two bombs ripped through two of the most crowded places in Hyderabad—the Lumbini Park, near the Secretariat and Gokul Chat, a popular eatery in Koti. The blasts killed 42 persons and injured over 50 persons. More than 150 witnesses were questioned and cross-examined during the decade-long trial, the hearing for which concluded on August 7.
Investigation authorities said that the blasts were carried out by the banned outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM). The founders of IM Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, along with another accused, are absconding. A chargesheet was filed in 2013 against Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, Aneeq Shafique Sayeed, Ismail Chaudhary, Farooq Sharfuddin Tarkish, Mohd Sadiq Israr Shaik and one other person. They were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
—India Legal Bureau