Charge sheet filed in Bangalore blast case

Police Saturday filed a charge sheet in a local court against 14 people accused of involvement in the bomb blast near the BJP office in the city's northwest suburb April 17, a top official said.

"The charge sheet filed is in three volumes, with 7,445 pages of material, 201 documents and deposition of 260 witnesses.

"The terror blast injured 18 people, damaged 23 vehicles and 56 residential buildings in the vicinity and the cumulative loss is estimated to be about Rs.50 lakh," Bangalore Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar said in a statement later.

The accused were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Explosive Substances Act, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The accused are Baashir, Kichan Buhari, Sait Azgar Ali, Rehamathulla, Valayil Hakeem, Syed Suleman, Suleman alias Man Bhai, Zulfikar Ali, Mohammed Salin, Panna Ismail, Bilal Malik, Fakruddin, Pravai Basha and Ali Khan Kutti.

All the accused hail from Thirunalveli, Coimbatore and Maduraidistricts in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

"The role of otheraccused, namely, Ismail, Malik, Fukruddin, Basha, Kutti and others are being investigated," Auradkar said.

As Ismail, Malik and Fukriddin were arrested by the Tamil Nadu police at Puttur near Chitoor in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh Oct 5, the city police will secure their custody through the court for further investigation.