Hyderabad twin bomb blasts case: 2 convicted, two others acquitted

Hyderabad, Sept. 4: A special court here on Tuesday pronounced guilty two suspected Indian Mujahideen operatives in the Gokul Chat twin blasts case of 2007.

The judgement was pronounced by the special court set up in the Central Prison in Cherlapally.

All the five suspects in the case were produced before the court. They are currently lodged in the Central Prison in Cherlapally.

The persons found guilty are Anique Shafiq Syed and Mohammed Akbar Ismail Chowdary. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced next Monday.

Two other suspects Farooq Sharfuddin and Sadiq Ahmed Sheik were acquitted by the court. The verdict on the other suspect Tariq will be pronounced later.

It has been 11 years that one of the darkest days in the city’s recent history when the otherwise calm city of Hyderabad witnessed a nightmare in the form of the twin blasts at the famous Gokul Chat Bhandar in Koti and the Lumbini Park just a few metres away from the Secretariat.

It was late evening on August 25, 2007, that two bombs exploded almost simultaneously in the capital city.

A total of 42 people were killed in the twin blasts, while over 50 persons were injured. Two more bombs were defused in other parts of the city. A day after the blasts, police discovered 19 unexploded bombs, most of them fitted with timers and placed in plastic bags at bus stops, cinemas, road junctions and pedestrian bridges and near a public water fountain too.

Since the blasts occurred at places popular among the general public on weekends, the victims of the blasts were people from different backgrounds, including children, students and women.

The case was investigated by the Counter Intelligence police of the state. The CI officials had filed charge sheet against seven persons of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) in connection with the case.