Author:
Publication: Deccan Chronicle
Date: November 23, 2004
A special court trying the serial
blasts case on Monday sentenced five activists of the Deendar Anjuman
to undergo four years rigorous imprisonment for possessing explosive
substances. It also sentenced 38 activists of the organisation to
six months rigorous imprisonment for criminal conspiracy. They have
also been fined Rs 1,000.
As the accused have already been
lodged in the Cherlapally Jail for four-and-half years in judicial
custody, they will be released on Tuesday. However, 17 of the accused,
who are wanted in connection with cases in Karnataka, will be handed
over to the Karnataka Police. Special Court Judge P Sri Sudha acquitted
the Deendar activists in 11 cases related to the blasts. In all,
there were 14 cases.
The Deendar activists were accused
of triggering serial bomb blasts in churches in Andhra Pradesh, Goa
and Karnataka in the beginning of the year 2000 to create communal
tension. They also planted bombs in mosques and temples. Defence
counsel R Mahadevan said that the prosecution failed to prove any
case related to the blasts. The accused had been convicted for possessing
explosives and for criminal conspiracy, he pointed out.
The five activists sentenced to
undergo rigorous imprisonment are Shaik Fardin, Mohammed Azeemuddin,
Mohammed Humayun Khan, Shaik Iqbal Ahmed and Khaja Moinuddin.
The family members of the accused expressed happiness at the judgment.
Deendar activists too were joyful. "With this judgment, my faith
in the Indian judicial system has gone up," said Shamsh-Uz-Zama,
a resident of Nuzivid in Krishna district.
Deendar activists said they will
continue to preach their ideology after being released. "We are happy,
but we will stick to our ideology," said Hasham Ali from Bangalore.
