Demistan, Karzakan blast case to be heard on Sept 23

Manama

 Prosecution witnesses will take the stand before the High Criminal Court on September 23 to give evidence in the trial of 32 accused of murder.

The accused are implicated in connection with a terrorist cell, which carried out two explosions that killed an elderly civilian and a policeman.

 The blasts in Demistan and Karzakan happened within just 12 hours in December last year. The first explosion killed policeman Ali Mohammed, while the second in Karzakan killed 72-year-old Abdulkareem Mansoor Al Basri. The second blast also injured Indian cold store employee Nowfal Nadukkanny, 36, and damaged several cars and windows of nearby homes.

 Only seven of the accused are in police custody, as the others are still at large and being tried in absentia.

 A police detective said earlier that investigations revealed the members of the terror cell collected money in the name of charity during religious processions to fund their activities.

 According to court documents, one of the accused guided police to an under construction building used to stash weapons, including over 100 molotov cocktails and 30 modified fire-extinguishers.