Yasin Bhatkal and four others on Monday were sentenced to death by a special NIA court in 2013 Hyderabad twin blast case.
In the first ever conviction of banned Indian Mujahideen cadres in a terror case, Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal and four others were convicted on 13 December for being involved in the blasts which claimed 18 lives.
Besides Bhatkal, the others convicted were Asadullah Akthar of Uttar Pradesh, Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas of Pakistan, Tahseen Akhthar of Bihar and Aizaz Shaik of Maharashtra.
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court convicted Bhatkal and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The alleged key conspirator Riyaz Bhatkal, believed to be operating from Karachi, is still at large.
The final arguments in the case concerning the attack, carried out on 21 February 2013 in which 18 people were killed and 131 were injured, concluded last month during which 157 witnesses were examined. Trial in the case had begun on 24 August last year.
An elated Director General of NIA Sharad Kumar said:
It was a wonderful investigation carried out by the team in which every evidence was examined minutely. This is the first ever conviction of Indian Mujahideen cadres. We will be appealing for maximum punishment for the culprits.
In its chargesheet, the NIA had claimed that Indian Mujahideen had hatched a conspiracy to wage a war against India and decided to carry out bomb blasts in Hyderabad to create terror in the minds of people and further the activities of the outfit.
The main operative of the module, Riyaz Bhatkal, who is named as the first accused in the case, had allegedly directed his associates Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas to find a place in Mangalore to be used as a hide-out for explosive materials sent by him, it had alleged.
(With inputs from PTI)
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