Dilsukhnagar Blast: High Court Upholds Death Sentence for Five Convicts
The High Court has ruled that the death penalty is appropriate for the accused in the Dilsukhnagar bomb blast case in Hyderabad. On Tuesday, the court delivered its final judgment, upholding the verdict previously issued by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court. The High Court confirmed the death sentences for the accused—Akhter, Zia-ur-Rahman, Yasin Bhatkal, Tahseen Akhtar, and Aijaz Shaikh—for carrying out the blasts that claimed innocent lives.
On 21 February 2013, two bomb explosions occurred within minutes of each other near the Dilsukhnagar bus stand in Hyderabad. The first blast took place directly in front of the bus stand, followed by another explosion around 150 meters away. The attackers used tiffin boxes to conceal the bombs. As a result of these coordinated blasts, 18 people were killed and another 130 sustained injuries.
The National Investigation Agency, which investigated the case, identified Yasin Bhatkal of the Indian Mujahideen terrorist organization as the main accused. It confirmed that five other terrorists were also involved in the attacks and presented them before the court. After a lengthy trial, the NIA Special Court sentenced all five accused to death. The convicts later appealed the verdict in the High Court.
The High Court, in its ruling on Tuesday, upheld the NIA Court’s decision. The main accused in the case, Riyaz Bhatkal, remains absconding.