Hyderabad twin blasts verdict: Victims unhappy about acquittal of two accused, blame investigators 

HYDERABAD: Sixty-five-year-old Ayesha Sultana is perplexed. After having lost her brother Md Saleem (47), his wife and two sons in the ghastly twin blasts on August 2007 in the city, all she was waiting to hear all these years was the conviction of all accused. Decrying failure in the investigation, after shocked to hear Tuesday's judgment, demand for justice for many like her - victims and kin of deceased, is only becoming louder.

Ayesha Sultana, who recalls how her brother Md Saleem had taken the family to Gokul Chat that rainy evening of August 25, now resides with her daughters in the city.

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On Tuesday, a special court found two of the five accused guilty of the crime while acquitting two others. Judgment against one of the accused who is facing charges of sheltering other accused is due for next hearing on Monday.

The judgment has been pronounced but how does it matter to us, she asks.

"Four lives have been lost in my home. My brother, Md Saleem, who was the sole breadwinner in the family died in the blast and even eleven years later, the many promises made to us have been kept unfulfilled," said Sultana. Besides Saleem, his wife Syeda Fareeda Naaz (35), and their children Ameer (8) and Ali (6) lost their lives at Gokul Chat when they went on a Saturday outing to Koti and visited Gokul Chat to have the popular Papdi Chat.

"Have you given any job to our family to economically support ourselves?" she questioned. "I want to meet the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao or his son KT Rama Rao and press our plea with them," she added.

Even the few victims who headed to Cherlapally central prison, anticipating a capital punishment to the accused, went with placards that read 'we want to meet CM KCR'. "We will get justice when we meet the Chief Minister. It is the least that he can do to us, to listen to our ordeal," said Chander Naik, a victim who lost his right eye in the blast.

Many expressed dissatisfaction over acquittal of two persons. "Considering that there have been many lives lost in the deadly blast, I thought that everyone would get capital punishment. No one should dare to commit this kind of a heinous crime again," said B Anjaiah, who lost his daughter along with two other relatives from his family in the blast.

"The prosecution has failed in proving the case against the two persons, the investigators are to be blamed. We hope that they reframe the charges and prove all of them guilty," Chander Naik. said.