Lajpat Nagar blast case: Kin to appeal in HC

Family members of two Kashmiris, sentenced to death in the Lajpat Nagar blast case, on Friday said they would challenge the verdict in the Delhi High Court.

"We are shattered by the verdict. But we will appeal against the verdict in Delhi High Court," a visibly upset Mirza Muzaffar, brother of Mirza Nissar Hussain, told reporters. Terming the death sentence awarded to his brother and two others "total injustice", Mirza alleged, "There was no solid witness and evidence. Yet the court convicted my brother and others."

A Delhi court sent to the gallows three out of six convicted members of militant outfit Jammu Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF) for the 1996 Lajpat Nagar market blast which had claimed 13 lives.

Elder brother of Mirza Nissar Hussain, Mirza Iftikhar Hussain has been acquitted by the same court some time back. The family of another convict, Mohammad Ali Bhat is equally dismayed at the quantum of sentence.

Haji Sher Ali, father of Mohammad Ali Bhat, said his son, now 43, was just 29-years-old when he was arrested in the case.

"As a father, this is my moral responsibility to fight till our ward gets justice. We will definitely challenge the verdict in the higher courts," Haji Ali said.

Dilawar Hussain, brother of Syed Maqbool Shah, who was acquitted by the court, termed the verdict as "injustice".

Meanwhile, Firda Dar, one of the two convicts allowed to walk free, arrived here from Delhi and went to downtown city to express solidarity with the family members of those awarded death penalty in the case.

Another convict Farooq Ahmad Khan, an engineer from Anantnag, allowed to walk free, has been taken to Rajasthan for trial in a Dausa case.

After sentencing Farooq to seven years imprisonment in the case yesterday, the court, however, ordered his release since he has already completed 14 years in jail after his arrest.

The trial in Dausa case was suspended some years back on the orders of Supreme Court, which passed the ruling on a petition filed by the family members of the arrested persons. They had pleaded that the hearings in one case must be taken at one time.

"We are hopeful that he will be acquitted in Dausa blast case also as he is not involved in it", Javid, Farooq's brother, said.