Telangana HC Upholds Death Sentences in 2013 Hyderabad Twin Blasts Case

Telangana High Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentences of five of the convicts in the 2013 Hyderabad twin blasts that killed 18 people and injured 131 others. The blasts occurred on February 21, 2013, at the Dilsukhnagar area of Hyderabad. The five accused, who have been named as Yasin Bhatkal, Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tehseen Akhtar, and Aizaz Shaikh, were held guilty by a special court of the National Investigation Agency in December 2016.

The convicts' appeals were dismissed by the High Court, confirming the sentence delivered by the NIA court. The bench noted that the offence was "rarest of the rare" and the law had made maximum punishment mandatory. The trials of the convicts took place under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for waging war against the state and murder.

The attack involved simultaneous bomb blasts at a crowded bus stand and a popular snack shop at Dilsukhnagar. 

The NIA found the convicts belonged to the banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen. Another key accused, Riyaz Bhatkal, is on the run in Pakistan.

Though the High Court ruled, the convicts can appeal at the Supreme Court. The decision has been seen as a big boost to the war on terror, and security has been beefed up at strategic locations in Hyderabad.