“He should meet Pakistan terrorist Ajmal Kasab’s fate,” is the common reaction from the families of those who lost their dear and near ones in the twin blasts at Dilsukhnagar.
Following the news break of Yasin Bhatkal’s arrest, activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) assembled in front of Anand Tiffin Centre and distributed sweets to people. They also raised slogans demanding that the government hang Bhatkal and burnt his effigy in front of the shop.
Relatives of the victims of the twin blasts wanted the government to give stringent punishment to the terrorist who masterminded a series of terror strikes across the country along with his associates as another IM member, Asadullah Akhtar, was also arrested.
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“Yasin should have been hanged in public, but I know that our laws don’t permit it,” said Lalaji Narsing Rao of Vani Bags where the second bomb went off. The first blast occurred near Anand Tiffin Centre in front of Konark theatre. The blasts snuffed out 17 lives and left 120 injured.
Rao’s family has not been able to come out of the trauma as he is facing vision and hearing problems. A worker at the shop, Mohammed Rafi of Talabkatta, died in the blast. “We are facing hardship after the incident,” Rao whispered.
Instead of wasting money on his security in jail, the government must expedite Bhatkal’s trial and ensure that he gets the death sentence at the earliest, the victims’ families maintained. Raju, an employee at Anand Tiffin Centre, which bore the maximum impact of the blasts, echoed similar views.
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“Why should people face such a gory end? We should not spare those involved in the blasts that claimed innocent lives,” he said.