All Accused In 2007 Mecca Masjid Blasts Including Swami Aseemanand Acquitted Due To Lack Of Evidence
Eleven years after blasts at Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid left nine people and wounded 58, a special National Investigative Agency (NIA) court today (16 April) acquitted all the five accused – including Swami Aseemanand – due to lack of evidence, reports The Times of India. Days after the bomb blast, an additional five people lost their lives in police firing when an out-of-control mob was being controlled.
The judge in his order observed that not a single allegation levelled by the prosecution could be proved, and hence he declared all the accused acquitted.Defence Advocate J P Sharma
The case was originally being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) before the NIA took over in 2011. A total of ten people, all owing allegiance to various right-wing groups were named as accused in the case, of which five including Aseemanand were arrested. Two of them were absconding while one died.
A total of 226 witnesses examined and 411 documents were exhibited during the trial. Aseemanad and another accused were out on bail while two other convicts were handed the life sentence by Rajasthan court in 2017 for their alleged role in the Ajmer blasts.