Hyderabad resident, 3 others get 10-year jail for Lumbini Park, Gokul Chat blasts of August 2007
A resident of Hyderabad was one among the four persons who were given a 10 year sentence by the NIA special court in the IM conspiracy case
HYDERABAD: A resident of Hyderabad was one among the four persons who were given a 10 year sentence by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court in the Indian Mujahideen (IM) conspiracy case.
The IM case, for which the verdict was given on July 7 in New Delhi, involves plotting bomb blasts across the country.
The four accused, identified as Danish Ansari (Darbhanga, Bihar) Aftab Alam (Purnea, Bihar), Imran Khan (Nanded, Maharashtra), and Obaid-Ur-Rehman (Hyderabad, Telangana), were in close cooperation with Pakistan-based IM members and key accused Riyaz Bhatkal and Yasin Bhatkal, who were residing in India.
Reportedly, they recced important places around India, including Hyderabad and Delhi. The four accused also procured explosives as well as arms and ammunition.
According to the NIA, they were members of the Indian Mujahideen who engaged in “large scale recruitment/induction of new members for the commission of terrorist activities in various parts of India, with active aid and support from Pakistan based associates as well as sleeper cells within the country to commit terrorist acts by bomb blasts at prominent places in India, especially in Delhi.”
The Varanasi blasts of March 2006, Mumbai serial blasts of July 2006, UP courts serial blasts at Varanasi, Faizabad, and Lucknow in November 2007, Hyderabad twin blasts of August 2007, besides the Jaipur serial blasts, Delhi serial blasts, and the Ahmedabad serial blasts in 2008 were all attributed to the IM group.
IM was also behind the Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru Stadium blast of 2010, and the Hyderabad twin blasts of 2013.
The Special Court Judge also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on accused Danish Ansari and Rs 10,000 on Aftab Alam.
In the IM case, charges had been framed against the four, along with five others. The other five have been identified as Yasin Bhatkal, Asadullah Akhtar, Zia-Ur-Rehman, Tehsin Akhter, and Hyder Ali on whom the trial would continue.