Sentences likely after August 6

The city that was devastated by a series of blasts on February 14, 1998 is all set to hear the verdict in the case.K. Uthirapathy, judge of the Special Court for Bomb Blast Cases, will start delivering the verdict on August 1. On the first day, he will announce whether the 220 core charges against the 166 accused are proved or not. The sentences are expected to be pronounced after August 6 after the arguments by the defence.

Nineteen explosions killed 58 people, injured 200 and damaged property worth over Rs.14 crore. The Special Investigation Team of the Crime Branch-CID and the city police arrested 168 persons owing allegiance to Al-Umma that was held responsible for the blasts.One of them turned an approver and another died in custody.A total of 166 accused are facing trial for charges under the Indian Penal Code, the Explosive Substances Act, the Arms Act and the Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damages and Loss) Act of 1992.

The key accused include Syed Ahmed Basha, who founded the Al-Umma on March 1, 1993, its Amir and general secretary, Mohammed Ansari, Tajudeen, Nawab Khan (Basha’s brother), Siddiq Ali (Basha’s son), “ace-bomb maker” Bashid, Zakir Hussain and five members of the outfit’s suicide squad.Arrests were made in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Most of them were from Tamil Nadu. One of the accused was arrested in Kolkatta.
The blasts marked the peak of communal intolerance.

The city had been sitting on a communal powder-keg waiting to explode since 1983, following the attack on Thirukkovilur Sundaram and Jana Krishnamurthy at R.S. Puram that year over the alleged inflammatory speeches against the faith of the minority community.Till the serial blasts, the city and rural police limits had witnessed 172 cases of communal violence. The murder of traffic constable R. Selvaraj on November 29, 1997 and the resultant strike by policemen was seen as the flashpoint.

This led to riots that left the western parts of the city burning and forced the administration to ask for the services of the Army to restore law and order.The SIT’s 17,000-page chargesheet said that the serial blasts, titled “Operation Allahu-Akbar”, was to avenge the killing of 18 Muslims in the riots and police firing after the traffic constable’s murder.The special court was constituted on April 7, 2000, charges were framed on October 23 and the trial commenced on March 7, 2002. The prosecution and defence arguments began in June 2006 and concluded on April 10, 2007. Of the 2,345 witnesses, 1,300 of them were examined.

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