Top

Man held from Hyderabad for blasts in Karnataka churches

Sheik Amir Ali had been on the run for 16 years since the serial blasts in churches across Karnataka in 2000.

Hyderabad: CID sleuths from Bengaluru arrested a man in Hyderabad involved in explosions in Karnataka churches with the help of the Telangana police.

Sheik Amir Ali aka Amir Ali, 36, a native of Nalgonda, had been on the run for 16 years since the serial blasts in churches across Karnataka in 2000. He was part of the banned Deendar Anjuman, which allegedly targeted churches in Karnataka.

A CID team headed by senior official C.H. Pratap Reddy arrested Amir Ali after tracing him with the help of the local police. A court in Bengaluru had issued a warrant against him on April 8.

On June 9, 2000, bombs exploded at the JJ Nagar Church and also in a church on Magadi Road in Bangaluru. In the JJ Nagar case, 29 people were arrested. Already, 11 people have been convicted for carrying out the blasts and given the death penalty, while 12 convicts have been given life imprisonment.

Seven of the accused did not face trial and five of them are from Pakistan, CID officials said. A case was booked against Aamir Ali and others after the blasts at the St Peter and Paul Church in JJ Nagar, Bengaluru. The JJ Nagar police filed cases under Sections 124A, 153A, 304(2), 295, 436, 427 of IPC; Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act and Section 9(b) of the Explosives Act.

In June 2000, there were blasts in many churches across Karnataka. Two bombs exploded at the St Anne's Church in Wadi in Gulbarga district. Bombs also exploded at the St John's Lutheran Church in Hubballi in which 16 of the 19 accused who were charge-sheeted faced trial.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
Next Story