NEW DELHI: A Hyderabad court has acquitted all 10 accused in the 2005 Hyderabad bomb blast case, stating a lack of evidence. Defence advocate Abdul Azeem said that the prosecution failed to provide substantial evidence. Metropolitan Sessions Court judge T Srinivas Rao exonerated the accused who were jailed for over a decade, except one, who was out on bail.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi while reacting to the judgment said that the explosive substance found at the blast site did not match the one produced by prosecution. He asked, “Police couldn't prove conspiracy but the accused lost 10 years of their lives languishing in jail. Will the investigation officers be made accountable?”
A suicide bomber blew himself up at the Task Force office on October 12, 2005, in Begumpet. The blast killed a Home Guard and injured another. A Special Investigation Team was constituted to investigate the blast, which later claimed Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami (HUJI) of Bangladesh was involved. The SIT team later filed a charge-sheet naming 20 people, arresting Mohammed Abdul Zahid, Abdul Kaleem, Shakeel, Syed Haji, Ajmal Ali Khan, Azmat Ali, Mahmood Baroodwala, Shaik Abdul Khaja, Nafees Biswas and Bilaluddin, a Bangladeshi citizen. It also claimed that the three other accused died in different incidents, and seven were absconding.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detective Department) Avinash Mohanty said that they would study the court order and then decide whether to go for an appeal against the verdict.
