By TCN News,
Bengaluru: The trial proceedings in the 2008 Bengaluru blast case began in the No 34 City Civil Court inside the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail in Bengaluru on Thursday. The trial has been postponed to July 7 on the request of the accused as they needed three months’ time to appoint consuls.
The trial proceedings could not be begun earlier as the handing over of the chargesheet to the trail court was delayed due to technicalities, according to reports. The case was handed over to the trial court by the First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in December 2010.
One person was killed and around 20 injured in the Bengaluru serial blasts that took place on July 25, 2008. Nine cases have been registered by the Karnataka police in connection with the blast. There are a total of 32 accused, among who 19 including Kerala’s PDP chief Abdunnasir Maudany (31st accused) are in Karnataka jail. 18 of them are Keralites. According to the police, four accused – 12th accused Abdul Raheem alias Afthab, 13th accused Muhammed Fayas, 14th accused P Fayis and 15th accused Muhammed Yaseen alias Varghese Joseph – were killed in an encounter with the army in Kashmir in October 2008. Nine accused – including Pakistan citizens Wali and Salim, Oman citizen Ali and five Keralites – are yet to be caught. There are a total of 280 witnesses in the case.
Maudany who was not accused in the first two chargesheets was named in an additional chargesheet later, and arrested by the Karnataka police from Kerala on August 17, 2010. Maudany had approached the sessions court and then the Karnataka High Court for bail stating he was innocent, but was denied based on the prosecution argument that he had contacted the others accused on phone.