Yasin Bhatkal, co-founder of Indian Mujahideen, has been found guilty in a terror case.
Highlights
- 18 killed, 130 injured in busy Hyderabad market in 2013
- Yasin Bhatkal, co-founder of Mujahideen, found guilty
- Group banned in 2010, he was arrested in 2013 at Nepal border
For the first time since it was banned as a terror group in 2010, top leaders of the Indian Mujahideen including Yasin Bhatkal have been found guilty of a terror attack.
A Hyderabad court today found Bhatkal, who co-founded the terror group, and four others guilty of two bombings in February 2013 at a packed shopping area in Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad. Eighteen people died and 130 were injured.
Just months later, in August that year, Yasin Bhatkal was found and arrested in Bihar at the border with Nepal. Co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal remains on India's most-wanted list and is believed to be in Pakistan.
The five declared guilty today will be sentenced on Monday.
Sharad Kumar, chief of the country's main counter-terror body or National Investigation Agency, told NDTV, "This was a lengthy probe. But it's the first time that IM cadres have been convicted. They had plans to strike all over India."
In its charge sheet, the agency said the Indian Mujahideen conspired to wage a war against India.
Before the deadly twin explosions, the group of five allegedly conducted a test blast on a hill on the outskirts of Hyderabad. They also allegedly used proxy servers for lengthy internet chats to plan the strike in the heart of the city.