HYDERABAD, India, 27 August 2007 — The death toll in the twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad on Saturday night rose to 40 even as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajsekhar Reddy yesterday said the blasts were carried out by terror outfits from Pakistan and Bangladesh. There are as many as 13 Muslims among the dead. Among the 54 people who sustained injuries in the incidents, 11 are Muslims, according to Hyderabad City Police.
The city police and the Hyderabad District Administration identified all the blast victims, barring one by yesterday evening. Similarly, all the injured have been identified and they are undergoing treatment in half-a-dozen corporate hospitals in the city.
As per the list, the deceased include four members of a family. Mohammed Saleem (aged 47 years) of Humayun Nagar, his wife Syeda Fareeda Naaz (35) and his two minor sons Mohammed Ameer (8) and Mohammed Ali (6) were killed in the blast. The other dead from the Muslim community included Mohammed Rizvan Ali (16) of New Malakpet, Ahmed Mohiuddin (45) of Zaheerabad town, Yahya Abdul Ghafoor (17) of New Malakpet, Akramullah Khan (22) of Amberpet, Mohammed Basith (21) of Malakpet, Shaikh Irfan Dowla (35) of Anantapur town, Irshad Ahmed, Ibrahim Khan (45) of Katni in Madhya Pradesh and Rahimunnisa Begum (40) of Asmangadh.
Speaking to journalists after an emergency meeting of the state Cabinet, the chief minister also announced a compensation of 500,000 rupees each to the families of the dead. He said a government job would be provided to one member from each bereaved family. He also announced a payment of 20,000 rupees each to the injured persons and said the government would meet all the expenses of their treatment at corporate hospitals where they have been admitted.
“In the two blasts at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat eatery, 40 people died and till now 39 of them have been identified. The dead include six women and three children. Seven of the dead were engineering students from Nashik in Maharashtra and two were railway employees from Katni in Madhya Pradesh. The remaining 33 victims hailed from the state. They (victims) belonged to all sections of society and included Hindus and Muslims,” the chief minister said.
“The Cabinet today met and reviewed the situation after the blasts. This sort of blasts reveals the nefarious activities of extremists. The Cabinet unanimously passed a resolution condemning the terrorists who perpetrated these acts and offered condolences to the bereaved families,” he said.
He said the Cabinet also appreciated the “exemplary behavior” of the citizens of the state who helped the government in bringing normalcy so very quickly in the twin cities of Hyderabad-Secunderabad soon after the blasts. He also thanked all the political parties for showing “unity” not only in condemning the ghastly acts of terrorists but also in bringing about normalcy. He urged everyone to act with a lot of patience and not to create or spread rumors.
Reddy said the Cabinet also expressed its “satisfaction and appreciation” at the way the police responded immediately after the incidents and went about searching the entire city of Hyderabad in an organized manner. They detected another bomb that could have exploded. “The Cabinet commended the police on this account,” he added. The chief minister refuted suggestions that the twin blasts were due to a failure of the intelligence wings of the state and city police.
