Two sentenced to death for 2007 Hyderabad twin blasts

A special court in Hyderabad on Monday sentenced two convicts to death and awarded life imprisonment to a third in the 2007 Hyderabad twin bomb blast case that claimed 42 lives.

Anique Shafiq Syed and Akbar Ismail Choudhary, described as alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives, were sentenced to death. The third convict, Tariq Anjum, was sentenced to life imprisonment for providing shelter to the other accused.

Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge T. Srinivas Rao pronounced the sentences at the high-security Cherlapally Central Prison on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

The twin blasts took place on August 25, 2007, at the popular Gokul Chat eatery and the open-air theatre at Lumbini Park near the State Secretariat. The near-simultaneous explosions, which occurred around 7.45 p.m., killed 42 people and injured 68 others.

Of the 42 victims, 32 were killed at Gokul Chat, while 10 died at Lumbini Park. An unexploded bomb was also recovered beneath a foot-over bridge in Dilsukhnagar that night.

Public prosecutor Seshu Reddy said Anique and Akbar were awarded the death penalty in three cases and were also fined Rs 10,000 in each case.

The court had convicted the two men on September 4. Earlier on Monday, it held Tariq guilty of providing shelter to the other accused.

Two other accused, Farooq Sharfuddin and Sadiq Ahmed Sheikh, were acquitted last week due to lack of evidence.