5 IM agents convicted for Hyderabad blasts

HYDERABAD: The special National Investigation Agency court found five members, including IM co-founder Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhaktal guilty of triggering twin blasts in Dilsukhnagar area, Hyderabad, in 2013. The convictions came three years after bombs tied to bicycles ripped through Hyderabad's bustling locality, killed 18 people and injured 131 others. Judgment followed one-hour proceedings by the special court inside the fortified Charlapally prison. Prosecution will seek capital punishment for the five convicts. "The minimum sentence they could receive is a life term, and the maximum, capital punishment. We will seek the maximum punishment for murder and waging war against the country- the death sentence," NIA special public prosecutor K Surender Rao said. The five terrorists were convicted under various sections of the IPC, the Arms Act and Unlawful Activities Act.