12 years later, 10 acquitted in Hyderabad suicide bombing case

HYDERABAD: Twelve years after a suicide bomber blew himself on Dasara in front of the Task Force office in Hyderabad, the first fidayeen attack in the city, all 10 terror suspects with alle ged links to Harkal ul Jehad al Islami (HuJI) were acquitted by the Nampally court on Thursday. A home guard, posted outside the Task Force office in Begumpet, died in the explosion on October 12, 2005. The court verdict, which was delivered in 15 minutes, came as a huge blow to Hyderabad police, particularly its Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was the probe agency. The acquittals drew sharp reactions from various quarters, including political parties, which accused the police of framing innocents and others criticizing the investigation agency for failing to prove charges. On Dasara day in 2005, the suicide bomber, Dalin alias Mohtasim Billal, HuJI activist and native of Bangladesh, walked into the Task Force office with a backpack stuffed with explosives and blew himself. He was accompanied by Mohammad Abdul Kaleem, who swiftly left the place after the blast. Kaleem, now acquitted, was the alleged key conspirator. The fidayeen attack was planned to avenge death of Hyderabadi youth, Mu jahid Saleem, who died in a firing by Gujarat police outside the DGP office at Lakdikapul in 2004, a SIT official said. Gujarat police came to Hyderabad to arrest a cleric in relation to the Harin Pandya murder case in Ahmedabad. On Thursday, all 10 accused were brought to court amid tight security, with 50 policemen armed to the teeth. The court was fortified with no one allowed inside the court. At 11.30am on Thursday, the seventh additional metropolitan sessions judge read out the operational part of the judgment announcing the acquittal of all 10 accused -Kaleem, Zahed, Shakeel Ahmed, Syed Haji, Ajmal Ali Khan, Syed Azmath, Mohammed Mahamood, Mohammed Kaja, Nafeequl Biswas, Bangladesh national Helaluddin as the prosecution failed to prove conspiracy charges. Also seizures from the accused were not clinching evidence in the case, said the judge. Twenty persons were named as accused and 10 were arrested in 2005. Of the remaining 10 accused, prime accused and HuJI operative Shahid Bilal died in Pakistan and one other died in a foreign country. HuJI bomber Dalin died in the blast. The case, however, stands against remaining seven accused, including the most wanted Farhatullah Gouri, who is now in Pakistan. They have been declared absconders and non-bailable warrants are pending against them. Zahed, brother of Bilal, was acquitted on Thursday. Among those listed absconding, Ghulam Yazdani died in a police encounter in Delhi in 2006, Shahed Bilal and brother Samad are suspected to be have been killed by ISI in Karachi in 2007. All 10 acquitted did `sajda' on the court complex after the acquittal. All accused, except Mahamood, have been in jail since their arrest. Muzafarullah Khan, counsel for the accused Bangladesh national, Helaluddin, said prosecution failed to prove charges against the accused. Mohammed Azeem, anot her advocate who represented the accused, said their stand was vindicated. "We had faith in court that one day, my clients will be acquitted. In last 12 years, all 10 accused were physically and mentally tortured by police. They were also threatened with encounter killings," Azeem alleged. In this case, 58 witnesses were examined and various material evidence like pistol, explosives, batteries were examined. After the acquittals, seven of accused were released from the Chanchalguda prison, but Md Hilaluddin and Nafeequl Biswas, also accused in 2005 Jaunpur Shramajeevi train blast case, weren't released. "They are due for transfer to Jaunpur Jail.Once the escort party is ready, they will be sent to prison in UP," Chanchalguda prison superintendent B Saidaiah said. Surce: Times of India