INDIA: YASIN BHATKAL, 4 OTHERS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 2013 HYDERABAD BLASTS

December 19, 2016: An NIA court sentenced to death banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen founder Yasin Bhatkal and four others for orchestrating twin blasts in Hyderabad three years ago that killed 19 people and injured 130.
The five operatives -- Yasin Bhatkal alias Mohammad Ahmed Siddibappa, Asadullah Akthar alias Haddi, Pakistani national Zia Ur Rehman, Mohammad Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu and Ajaz Shaikh – were held guilty by a special National Investigation Agency court on December 13.
But the prime accused in the case – Yasin’s brother Riyaz Bhatkal alias Shah Riyaz Ahmad Mohammed Ismail Shahbandari – is on the run and is said to be in Pakistan.
“The NIA court felt that the twin blasts case falls in the category of rarest of rarest crimes and hence, all the five accused are liable for death sentence,” the National Investigation Agency (NIA) advocate told reporters.
This is the first conviction of any operative belonging to the home-grown terror outfit that is accused in a string of explosions, including the 2008 Delhi bombings, the 2010 Varanasi blasts and the 2010 Pune bombings.
A copy of the judgment will be sent to the Hyderabad high court to confirm the sentence. “The convicted will be given an opportunity to appeal in the Supreme Court,” the NIA advocate added. (Sources: Hindustan Times, 19/12/2016)