NIA court acquits all accused in Mecca Masjid blast case

Hyderabad : A special court of National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday acquitted all accused in the case of bomb blast at Mecca Masjid. A powerful bomb explosion had killed nine people and injured 58 others after a Friday prayers in the mosque on May 18, 2007.

After a long trial of 11 years, the IVth Additional Metropolitan Sessions-cum-Special judge pronounced the judgment acquitting all five accused, including Swami Aseemanand due to lack of clinching evidence. The NIA had examined a total of 226 witnesses during the trial and as many as 411 documents were exhibited. Swami Aseemanand and Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar were out on bail while three others were lodged in jail. Besides Aseemanand, others acquitted are Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Bharath Mohan Lal Rateshwar and Rajendra Choundary.

Accused Sunil Joshi of Madhya Pradesh, a former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak, was murdered when the case was investigated. Two other accused, former RSS pracharak Sandeep V. Dange and RSS activist and electrician Ramchandra Kalsangra, also from Madhya Pradesh, have been eluding the investigators. Investigations against two others from the same State, Tejram Parmar and Amith Chowhan, are continuing.

Elaborate security arrangements were made around the Nampally Courts Complex while the judgment was being pronounced.