Prosecution malicious & biased: Asad

​Hyderabad: All-India Majlis-e-Itthehadul Muslimeen president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday found fault with the way National Investigating Agency (NIA) handled the Mecca Masjid blast case. While blaming the national agency for “deliberately failing to produce the evidence against the accused”, he felt that the onus falls on their hands for acquittal of the accused.

Reacting to the judgment where Aseemanand, Devender Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Bharatbhai and Rajender Chowdhary, who were earlier charged by the NIA, were acquitted, Asaduddin felt that the prosecution done by NIA was malicious and biased, as these accused had got scot-free. He reasoned that many witnesses had turned hostile after 2014, when the BJP came to power at the Centre, which resulted in their acquittal. 

“NIA is deaf and blind. They didn’t appeal against bail given to the accused. Witnesses also turned hostile after June 2014,” he said. The MIM president felt that since investigating officer could not give proper statements, everything which was done as part of investigation has failed the victims and proved that the so-called “fight against terrorism” was weak. 

He noted that the acquittals in the blast case verdict proves that justice has not been done by NIA and Modi government, which did not even appeal against the bail to the accused within the 90 days. “This was a complete biased investigation which will weaken our resolve to fight against terrorism, as NIA succumbed to their political masters,” he added.