Hyderabad: The Eleven years after powerful bombs ripped through Hyderabad’s historic Macca Masjid slaying nine persons and wounding at least 58 persons. The fourth additional metropolitan sessions-cum-special court for NIA acquitted all five accused, including Swami Aseemanand due to lack of evidence on Monday.
The judge in his order observed that not a single allegation leveled by the prosecution could be proved, and hence he declared all the accused acquitted,” said a defence advocate.
Hyderabad Old City erupted in anger as many family members of victims wondered who is to be blamed for the blast. “Who killed our brothers and sisters? Will we ever come to know the truth,” Soon after the blast on 18th May 2007, five more persons were killed in police firing as cops tried to control a mob.
The high profile case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which filed a charge sheet and later the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over from the CBI in the year 2011.
Altogether, 10 Accused persons of right-wing organizations were named as accused in the case. But only five of them, Swami Aseemanand Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar and Rajendra Chowdhary were arrested in the case.
The Sandeep V Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra two other accused are still absconding, while another accused Sunil Joshi died.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) examined a total of 226 witnesses during the trial and as 411 documents were exhibited.
Swami Aseemanand and Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar were out on bail while three other accused were lodged in jail. In March 2017, a Rajasthan court had sentenced Gupta and another convict to life imprisonment in the Ajmer dargah blast case.
