Hyderabad blasts: twice lucky, now key suspect | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Hyderabad blasts: twice lucky, now key suspect

Hindustan Times | ByAshok Das, Hyderabad
Feb 23, 2013 11:41 AM IST

Abdul Wasif Mirza, who was injured in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast and again in Thursday’s Dilsukhnagar blasts, has gone from lucky survivor to prime suspect in the past 24 hrs. Ashok Das reports. Sleuths scan CCTV footage | Sai Baba temple original target? | 'Will make them pay for this' | Names of deceased

Abdul Wasif Mirza, who was injured in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast and again in Thursday’s twin blasts at Dilsukhnagar, has gone from lucky survivor to prime suspect in the past 24 hours.



A police team arrived at Yashoda super-speciality hospital in Dilsukhnagar to question him Friday evening, just hours after mediapersons and NGO representatives had left.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.


The suspicion is on two counts — that he happened to be in both places and survived both blasts, and that he told a TV channel he had come to Dilsukhnagar for a cup of tea when he lives in Kalapathar locality, a good 7km away.

“We can’t rule out anything. He might be part of them or might have helped them,” said one official.

Mirza — who hawks T-shirts by the roadside — is being treated for injuries to his back and abdomen, and doctors said he might suffer serious damage to his spinal cord. He had lost his left leg in the 2007 blast.

The police also picked up six persons for questioning — though they neither confirmed nor denied the arrests — and hope to get more leads from footage caught by the Dilsukhnagar bus junction CCTV, which had not been working for the past three months but was repaired just hours before the explosions at 7pm.

Investigators suspect the Sai Baba temple in the locality was the original target as thousands visit it on Thursdays. But heavy police presence for commissioner Anurag Sharma’s visit to the shrine at 6pm for pujas may have led to a last-minute change in plans with the tiffin-box bombs being planted near the Konark and Venkatadri theatres instead.

Two more persons died of their injuries on Friday, taking the toll to 16. More than 100

people were injured and six are said to be critical.

The Sai temple had been attacked with similar tiffin bombs on November 21, 2002, resulting in two deaths.

In the city to meet the injured, union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said an all-inclusive investigation was in progress and that it was too early to blame any organisation or outfit. However, all signs point to the home-grown Indian Mujahideen.


Unveiling Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!

Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Arvind Kejriwal News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On