Four of the accused in Chinnaswamy stadium blast case eight years ago orally agreed to confess to their part in the terror attack after their plea bargaining petition was rejected by the NIA special court on Tuesday.
The accused — Gowhar Azeez Khomani, Mohammed Taariq Anjum, Kamaal Hasan and Mohammed Kafeel Akhtar — had filed a plea bargain petition under Section 265 of the Criminal Procedure Code, seeking concession in their punishment. The court, however, dismissed the petition citing technical grounds, following which the four said they are ready to confess. The next hearing has been posed for Wednesday.
The four accused are charged with conspiracy and providing local support to their co-conspirators to carry out a series of bomb blasts in various parts of the country including Chinnaswamy stadium before the commencement of the IPL cricket match on April 17, 2010.
As many as 15 people, including police personnel, were injured in three blasts. The bombs had been planted in and around the stadium. The police later recovered two live bombs. They charged 13 persons in the case including Yaseen and Riyaz Bhatkal.
According to the prosecution, the accused sensed that the case against them was strong. Also, several eye-witnesses testified against them before the court.