Karnataka police arrest Bangalore church blasts accused

The Karnataka Police have arrested a man accused of orchestrating the Bangalore bomb blasts in Hyderabad, along with the assistance of the Telangana Police.

According to a media release, a CID team headed by AGDP CH Pratap Reddy arrested Sheik Amir Ali (36) in Hyderabad on August 8.

The release said that Ali, alias Amir Ali, was a native of Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh. The First Additional City Municipal Magistrate’s court had issued a warrant against him on April 8.

An FIR pertaining to the blasts at the St Peter Paul Church in JJ Nagar, was filed with the JJ Nagar police station under Sections 124A, 153A, 304(2), 295, 436, 427 of the IPC; Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act read with Section 9(b) of the Explosives Act.

On June 9, bombs exploded at the JJ Nagar Church and also Magadi Road. In the JJ Nagar case, 29 people had been arrested. Already, 11 people have been convicted of 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, the release said.

On June 8, 2000, there were blasts in multiple churches across the state. Two bombs had exploded at St Anne’s Church in Wadi, Gulbarga district, a chargesheet was filed against 19 people but 15 faced trial as the rest were absconding. Bombs also exploded at St John’s Lutheran Church in Hubballi, in which 16 of the 19 accused who were chargesheeted faced trial.