Hyderabad: The 2007 Mecca Masjid blast verdict was passed today by a court here in Hyderabad amid tight security arrangements. Swami Aseemanand, a saffronist monk, has been linked to three terror attacks. The reason cited by the court was that the country’s top anti-terror body, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had failed to prove anyone’s guilt. On May 18 of 2007, more than 50 were also injured when the blast occurred through the historic mosque during Friday prayers. The National Investigation CBI took over the case from the CBI in 2011.
Here are the details about the big story:
Ten people related to the right-wing organisations were named as accused in the case. One of them, Sunil Joshi, a former member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was murdered while the case was still under investigation.
Along with Swami Aseemanand, Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar alias Bharat Bhai and Rajendra Chowdhary also faced trial in the case. Two other accused in the case — Sandeep V Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra — are missing.
The police in Hyderabad involved in the investigation of the case in the early stages blamed the Harkatul Jihad Islami group and held around 100 Muslim young men. The arrested men were released in 2008. The Commission for National Minorities alleged that they had been charged, falsely, confined illegally and tortured.
The Central Bureau of Investigation in 2010 alleged that the Hindu right-wing group Abhinav was behind the blast. According to the charge sheet filed, the accused were “angered by terrorist attacks committed on Hindus and their temples” and wanted to “avenge” them by attacking Muslim areas and places of worship.
As a result, Aseemanad was arrested by the CBI in 2010. The charge sheet said that he even made a confessional statement in front of a metropolitan magistrate in Delhi. He had allegedly disclosed the conspiracy behind the bomb blasts in different places, which includes Mecca Masjid. After that reports emerged that he allegedly retracted the statement later.
The “confession” statement was among the documents that were reported missing last month.
Last year, Aseemanand was acquitted in the blast case related to Ajmer Dargah and got bail in the Samjhauta Express blast case of 2014.
The real name of Swami Aseemanand is Naba Kumar Sarkar, and Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar are out on bail while three others lodged in central prison in Hyderabad.
In a reaction to the acquittals today, former Home Ministry officer RVS Mani said, “I had expected it.” He claimed that “all the pieces of evidence were engineered” and that “there was no Hindu terror angle”.
During the 11 years, more than 200 witnesses were examined by the court, and over 400 documents were exhibited.
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