Kerala: Two persons get lifer in Kozhikode blast case

Kochi, Aug 12: The verdict on the 2006 Kozhikode blast case has been delivered. The two suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists, Thadiyantavide Naseer and Shafas have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the special CBI court on Friday.

The court charged them under waging war against the nation, state and the government. Nazeer was the prime accused in the case. The court had acquitted two others in the case; one of them, Abdul Halim escaped law due to the benefit of doubt, the other person C Yusuf had no evidence in his favour. The matters were revealed by judge S Vijay Kumar.

The twin blasts in the city of Kozhikode had struck on Mar 3, 2006. The court had earlier pronounced the duo, who have been sentenced to life imprisonment, guilty. The National Investigating Agency (NIA) had filed its charge sheet on Aug 2010 against eight men that termed Nazeer as the prime accused.

The court had stated that it had enough evidence against Nazeer, who was also an accused in the 2008 Bangalore blasts and Shafas. The Kozhikode blasts saw two policemen and a porter getting injured. Nazeer also faces charges for burning a Tamil Nadu state bus in 2005. He was protesting against PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani's detention in connection with the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts. The act was carried out together with other suspected PDP activists.

The accused were chargesheeted under Sect 120B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), relevant sections of Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act, 1967, and Explosive Substance Act.

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