Fifteenth Anniversary of Mecca Masjid Bombing

18 May, 2022 18:09 IST|Sakshi Post

Hyderabad: It’s fifteenth anniversary of Mecca Masjid bomb blast today that killed nine people while injuring 60 others on May 18, 2007. Following the blast an agitated mob came on the streets protesting the attack and five more people were killed as the police fired at protestors to quell the mob. 

The then state government had formed a Justice Bhaskar Rao Commission to probe the police firing. The panel submitted its report in 2010 and it’s been 12 years of waiting for the victims’ families, the contents of the report still not made public. 

After the bomb attack on historic Mecca Masjid, the local Hussaini Alam police station registered a case and the probe was taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The investigation was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Owing to the lack of evidence, all five persons accused of the bomb blast were acquitted by the special NIA court on 16 April 2018.

Brief timeline of Mecca Masjid bomb blast probe:

  • In June 2010, the CBI named Sunil Joshi in a chargesheet filed in the Mecca Masjid bomb blast case. While he was killed by unknown gunmen in Dewas of Madhya Pradesh on December 29, 2007.
  • On November 19, 2010, the security agencies identified Jatin Chatterjee aka Swami Aseemanand, who is a member of the Hindu group Abhinav Bharat, as an accused in the case. Following the investigation, police arrested two more accused Devender Gupta and Lokesh Sharma. 
  • Swami Aseemanand was arrested on December 18, 2010 for his involvement in Mecca Masjid bombing. 
  • On December 3, 2011, the security agencies arrested Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar alias Bharatbhai of Valsad, Gujarat.
  • In April 2011, the investigation was transferred from CBI to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
  • On March 2, 2013, Rajender Chaudhary alias Samundar from Madhya Pradesh was arrested by the police in Mecca Masjid bombing case.
  • Hyderabad CBI Special court granted bail to Swami Aseemanand on March 23, 2017. 
  • Seven years later Swami Aseemanand was released from Chanchalguda jail on March 31, 2017. 
  • On April 16, 2018, the Nampally court acquitted all five accused in the Mecca Masjid bombing case as prosecution failed to prove the charges against the accused persons.

Also Read: KCR Clears 3 Names For TRS Rajya Sabha Candidates

whatsapp channel
Read More:
More News