Tributes paid to victims of 2007 Hyderabad blasts

Hyderabad, Aug 25 : Rich tributes were paid on Wednesday to those who lost their lives in the twin bomb blasts at Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park in Hyderabad 14 years ago.

The locals and some of the survivors of the blasts gathered at the Gokul Chat to pay tributes to the 42 people who were killed in the near simultaneous blasts on this day in 2007.

The popular eatery in Koti was shut on the anniversary of the blasts. People were seen offering floral tributes at its entrance.

The survivors said the government should ensure that the guilty are hanged without any further delay.

In 2018, a special court had sentenced two convicts to death and a third to life sentence.

Syed Raheem, who lost one of his eyes in the blast at the popular eatery, demanded the government to do justice to the victims by immediately hanging the guilty persons.

He said people who lost their limbs or other vital organs in the blasts were still waiting for justice.

"We are still waiting for justice. Many have not received the compensation either," he said.

Raheem, who has been staging protest at Gokul Chat on every anniversary of the blasts, questioned the delay in implementing the death sentence awarded to the convicts.

Anique Shafiq Syed and Akbar Ismail Choudhary, the alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives, were sentenced to death in connection with the case, while a third convict, Tariq Anjum, was awarded life sentence.

Two other accused, Farooq Sharfuddin and Sadiq Ahmed Sheikh, were acquitted for lack of evidence.

Two powerful explosions had ripped through the popular eatery named Gokul Chat and an open-air theatre at Lumbini Park, near the state secretariat, on August 25, 2007, killing 42 people and wounding 68 others.

While 32 people were killed at Gokul Chat, 10 persons lost their lives at Lumbini Park, in near-simultaneous blasts that occured at around 7.45 p.m. that day.

An unexploded bomb was also found under a foot-over-bridge at Dilsukhnagar.

The accused were arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad in October 2008. Three other accused, including IM chief Riyaz Bhatkal and his brother Iqbal Bhatkal, are still at large.

The case was initially investigated by the Andhra Pradesh Police. Following the bifurcation of the state, it was handed over to the Counter Intelligence (CI) wing of Telangana Police.