Verdict in Lumbini, Gokul Chat blast case today

Hyderabad: The Metropolitan Session Judge (MSJ) court will deliver its verdict on Monday in the case of twin blasts which took place at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar on August 25, 2007 killing 42 people and injuring 50 others. 

The first blast occurred at the open-air theatre in Lumbini Park in the evening hours killing 10 people. The second blast took place at the popular eatery Gokul Chat Bhandar in Koti in which 32 people died. The Indian Mujahideen (IM) activists were suspected to have planted Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) at Lumbini Park and set them off when a laser show was going on. Many victims were students from Maharashtra 

who had come to Hyderabad on an industrial tour. Another IED went off a little later at the crowded Gokul Chat Bhandar in Koti. The bomb was hidden in a bag and was left on an ice cream machine by one of the accused, suspected to be Riyaz Bhatkal. 

The culprits fled the location after setting off the explosives. The third IED, which was planted on the foot-over-bridge at Dilsukhnagar, was defused by the police before they were set off. These blasts created a panic among the people in the city. According to sources, in August 2013, the MSJ Court had framed charges against Anique Shafiq, Mohammad Saddiq, Akbar Ismail and Ansar Ahmed. 

The four are lodged in the Cherlapally Central Prison. Till now, around 170 witnesses have been examined and cross-examined.   Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Farooq Sharfuddin and Amir Rasool Khan are still absconding.  Police suspect that they are holed up in Pakistan and Bangladesh.