The special court of National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Hyderabad on Tuesday convicted five members of Indian Mujahideen in Dilsukhnagar bomb blast case of February 2013.
The judge will announce the quantum of punishment on December 19. Five of the six accused of the case including Mohammed Ahmad Siddibapa alias Yaseen Bhatkal were produced before the judge amid heavy security this morning.
The bomb blast in the busy commercial area of Dilsukhnagar near Konark and Venkatadri theaters had claimed 18 lives and injured 138 others.
While the five accused were arrested and charge sheeted by the NIA, the alleged brain behind the blast and the top leader of the shadowy terror outfit Indian Mujahideen Riyaz Bhatkal was absconding.
All the accused were found guilty under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Arms Act and Indian Penal code. The other convicts include Tahseen Akhtar, Asadullah Akhtar, Ziaurrahman alias Waqas and Aijaz Shakeel. While Waqas was a Pakistani citizen, Asadullah hails from Uttar Pradesh, Tahseen was from Bihar and Shakeel hails from Maharashtra. Yaseen and absconding Riyaz belong to Karnataka.
During its protracted investigation the NIA had picked up the accused from different places across the country and filed a charge sheet charging them with murder, waging war against the State, conspiracy and violation of explosives act.
NIA had named 524 witnesses in the cases and statements of 157 of them were recorded before the court. The prosecution also filed 502 documents and 300 material objects in support of its case. The hearing of the case had started on August 24 last year and the arguments were completed within 13 months, a record of sorts.
Reacting to the verdict, the NIA director general Sharad Kumar expressed his satisfaction over the way the investigation was carried out by the agency. “This is the first ever conviction of Indian Mujahideen cadres”, he said. “We will be appealing for maximum punishment for the culprits”, he said.
Prosecution had also produced the evidence of how the terror module received financial assistance form abroad, how the explosive materials were gathered to manufacture the improvised explosive devices. The court was also told that before triggering the blasts in a crowded area the accused had conducted a rehearsal at a desolate spot in the outskirts of Hyderabad.