VIJAYAPURA: A 47-year-old man from Vijayapura city is among the 38 convicts who have been awarded the death sentence for their role in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case by a special court in Gujarat on Friday. The serial blasts in Ahmedabad killed 56 people and injured more than 200 people. The convict from Vijayapura has been identified as Hafiz Hussain alias Adnan Mulla. A graduate, Hussain was reportedly a member of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Within a few months of the blasts, police arrested 79 people, including Hussain and Mohammad Sami from Vijayapura.
“Hussain was an active SIMI member since college days. He was reportedly one of the main conspirators of the Ahmedabad blasts. He has over 25 FIRs against him on charges of anti-national activities. He was one of the most wanted terrorists until he was caught in 2009,” sources said.Hussain has four brothers. Interestingly, one of them is in the Indian Army. “Hussain is innocent. He has been framed. We have not spoken to him after the verdict,” one of the brothers told TNSE. When asked if the family will appeal in the higher courts against the verdict, Hussain’s brother said, “We will take a call on this after discussing it with the entire family.”
Meanwhile, after 13 years in jail, Mohammad Sami (35) was acquitted in the Ahmedabad serial blasts case by a special court in the first week of February. His father Rajahmed Bagewadi said, “From the day of his arrest, I was confident that he was not be involved in such anti-national activities. The entire family had gone under severe mental harassment since he was taken into custody. We will not seek any kind of compensation from the government. Now, I will work on shaping my son’s future,” he added.