Yasin Bhatkal, 4 others sentenced to death in Dilsukhnagar blast case

A special court of the National Investigation Agency sentenced Indian Mujahideen leader, Yasin Bhatkal and four others to death in connection with the Hyderabad Dilsukhnagar blasts case on Monday.

While handing out the deaths sentence, the court held that the case falls under the category of the rarest of the rare cases

A special court of the National Investigation Agency sentenced Indian Mujahideen leader, Yasin Bhatkal and four others to death in connection with the Hyderabad Dilsukhnagar blasts case on Monday. The court held that the case falls under the category of the rarest of rare cases.

The special NIA court had on December 13 convicted Yasin and four others, after finding them guilty of carrying out the Dilsukhnagar blasts. Incidentally, this was the first conviction handed out to Yasin.

The NIA sought death sentence for Yasin and his accomplices. The NIA argued that the case falls under the definition of the rarest of rare cases and hence Yasin and his accomplices must hang to death.

On December 13, Yasin was handed out his first conviction under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 1967 and the Indian Penal Code. Apart from Yasin, four others were also convicted by the court. The court, while delivering the verdict, said that the prosecution has managed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused are guilty.

The court had framed charges against Yasin, the IM co-founder, Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahaseen Akhtar alias Monu and Aijaz Sheikh, who are at present lodged in the Cherlapally Prison in Hyderabad. The court however split up the case against Riyaz Bhatkal, one of the founders of the outfit as he is absconding.

A history of violence

Eighteen people were killed and 131 injured in two deadly explosions near Konark and Venkatadiri theatres in Dilsukhnagar, a crowded shopping area in the city, on February 21, 2013.

During the course of the arguments, the NIA pointed out that the IM was banned on June 22, 2009. The IM has been responsible for the November 2007 blasts in courts of Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow, the Varanasi blast of July 11, 2006, the Mumbai serial blasts of July 11, 2006 and the Hyderabad twin blasts of August 25, 2007.

The NIA said that the outfit was also behind the Jaipur blast of May 13, 2008, the Ahmedabad serial blasts of July 26, 2008, the September 13, 2008 serial blasts in Delhi, Pune's German Bakery blast in February 2010, the Chinnaswami stadium blast in Bangalore on April 17, 2010 and the Mumbai serial blasts of July 13, 2011 were also allegedly carried out by IM.