German Bakery blast case



Yasin Bhatkal

Yerwada Central Jail

Riyaz Bhatkal

Bhatkal got the death penalty in the Hyderabad blasts case in December 2016. There was also a notice under CrPC stating that he shall not be taken out of the state. The prosecution is not aware of the latest status — Raja Thakare, SPP

While the state anti-terrorism squad (ATS), investigating the German Bakery blast case, has not been able to produce key accused Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa aliasin court for three years, Wednesday brought about the shocking revelation that the squad has no idea where the Indian Mujahideen (IM) founder is at present. A written statement to this effect was submitted before the Pune sessions court and district and sessions Judge KD Vadhne has issued a notice to theauthorities, asking for an explanation.The 2010 blast case has made no headway in the past three years due to Bhatkal’s absence. The sessions court has already adjourned the hearing on 71 occasions since August 22, 2014, and the matter is still at the stage of framing charges.The situation was brought to the notice of the court by defence lawyer Zaheerkhan Pathan and when the court asked the ATS for an explanation, the aforementioned statement was their only response.Objecting strongly to the statement submitted by the ATS, Pathan, who is representing Bhatkal, told Mirror, “The ATS is the investigating agency in a sensitive case. Making a statement that they have no knowledge about Bhatkal is frivolous. At the time of remand, when Bhatkal was last produced in court, he was in the custody of the ATS. This is just their way of prolonging the trial.”“Since then, 71 hearings have passed and the ATS has failed to produce Bhatkal in the court. Being an investigative agency, the ATS should know where the accused has been lodged. This is a clear violation of the rights of the accused — we will take appropriate steps as it is clear that this is not a fair trial,” Pathan added.When contacted, Raja Thakare, the state-appointed special public prosecutor in the case, said that he is not aware of the recent development. “Bhatkal had been handed the death penalty in the Hyderabad twin blasts case in December 2016. There was also a notice under Section 268 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) stating that he shall not be taken out the state. At present, the prosecution is not aware of the latest status of the case,” was all he said.Nine persons, including four foreigners — all women — were killed and over 40 were injured in the blast which ripped through German Bakery on February 13, 2010. Apart from Bhatkal, who hails from Karnataka, the ATS booked six suspects — Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig of Beed, Mohsin Choudhary of Pune, Riyaz Ismail Shabadri aliasof Karnataka, Fayyaz Kagzi alias Zulfikar Fayyaz Ahmed of Beed and Sayyad Zabiuddin Sayyad Zakiuddin alias Zabi Ansari of Beed. All seven IM members were booked under sections 302, 307, 326, 325, 324, 427, 120(B), 109, 153 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act and sections 10, 13, 16, 18, 20 and 23 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.Himayat Baig, the first suspect in the case, was arrested on September 9, 2010 and convicted on April 4, 2013, with the death penalty. The security agencies then arrested Bhatkal, a key conspirator in several bomb blasts and co-founder of the banned IM, and another IM operative, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, from the India-Nepal border in Bihar’s Raxaul on August 28, 2013.Bhatkal was handed over to the Maharashtra ATS on March 13, 2014 and produced before the Pune court only twice. Later, he was kept in the Tihar jail for security reasons and ATS officers went there to hand over the copy of the chargesheet in the German Bakery case.Bhatkal was also sentenced to death by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in December 2016, along with Asadullah Akthar alias Haddi, Pakistani national Zia Ur Rehman, Mohammad Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu and Ajaz Shaikh, for the twin blasts that rocked Dilsukhnagar, one of Hyderabad’s busiest commercial districts, on February 21, 2013.The next hearing in the German Bakery blast case has been scheduled on September 21, when Yerwada Jail authorities are to submit an explanation of the statement filed by the ATS.