Finally, twin blasts case trial all set to begin after 9 years

Hyderabad: Hardly a fortnight before the ninth anniversary of the deadliest terror strike in the city so far, a local court will finally take up trial in the twin blast case from Tuesday.
Two blasts, orchestrated by the Indian Mujahideen (IM), had ripped through popular hangouts Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat in Koti on August 25, 2007, claiming 42 lives and injuring over 60 people.
The Counter Intelligence Cell, which was probing the case till now, had declared seven persons as accused. Three of them are still absconding.
The chargesheet filed by the CI Cell investigators named Anik Shafique Sayeed (Accused 1), Mohammed Akbar Ismail Choudhari (A2), Riyaz Bhatkal (A3; absconding), Iqbal Bhatkal (A4; absconding), Farooq Sharfuddin (A5; absconding), Mohammed Saddiq Sheik (A6) and Amir Rasool Khan (A7; absconding).
The II Metropolitan Sessions Judge at the Nampally court complex would begin trial against the arrested four, who are lodged in Chanchalguda jail, from Tuesday.
On August 25, 2007, the IM activists had planted improvised explosives devices (IED) at Lumbini park, which went off when the visitors were witnessing a laser show. Many victims were students from Maharashtra, who had come on an industrial tour to the city.
At the same time, another IED exploded at the crowded Gokul Chat Bhandar in Koti. The bomb was hidden in a bag and left on an ice-cream machine by one of the accused, suspected to be Riyaz Bhatkal. The culprit witnessed the blast before he and his other associates fled from the location. The third IED, which was planted on the foot-over-bridge (FoB) at Dilsukhnagar, was defused by the police.
For nearly two years, the Hyderabad police failed to get any leads in the case. Finally, when the Mumbai police nabbed IM members Anik, Ismail Choudhari, Rasool Khan and Saddiq, it came to light that it was they who organised the twin blasts and the role of Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal came to the fore.
Later, the then investigating agency, Octopus, brought them on transit warrant and showed their arrest in the city. All the accused were former members of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).