All accused in Mecca Masjid Blast acquitted due to lack of evidence; Judge resigns post verdict

Right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand along with four others associated in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case were acquitted day before yesterday.

The special anti-terror court declared there were not enough charges against them to prove their guilt. On may 8th, 2007 a ravaging blast ripped through the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad killing nine people and wounding 58.

Not even a day passed after this declaration that a judge associated with this case resigned. When judge Ravinder Reddy who delivered the verdict in this 11-year-old case on Monday afternoon resigned on the same day, everyone was stunned. The judge, citing personal reasons, handed over his resignation to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge. A news agency, PTI, reports that judge Reddy has declared that his decision is not at all influenced by today’s judgement and he has been planning to resign for quite some time.

On Monday, during his order, he said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) could not establish the role of the accused in the attack which was marked by the death of 9 people and injury of more than 50 people while they were busy doing prayers at the historic mosque. According to PTI, Aseemand’s counsel JP Sharma told reporters soon after the verdict that the prosecution failed to prove any allegations against the accused and hence released them. In the past 11 years, the court has examined more than 200 witnesses and over 400 documents were exhibited by the court.

In Mecca Masjid Blast case Local police who was in charge of the case initially transferred it to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and subsequently, the National Investigation Agency took over in 2011. The acquisition of Swami Aseemanand, a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who has been linked to three terror attacks, has made Hyderabad lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi raise questions marking it as an “intriguing” move.

Ten people allegedly associated with right-wing organisations were marked as accused. However, only five of them were taken for trial. Among them one was Sunil Joshi, a former RSS member like Aseemanand, was murdered mysteriously.