Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blast verdict likely today: ‘In struggle to survive after my father’s death, can’t believe 11 years have passed’

“Court will give a verdict, is it? I forgot that the case was going on. Which court? In the struggle to survive after my father’s death, I can’t believe 11 years have already passed. God will punish the guilty, I am sure,” he says.

“For the first few months I had followed the case, but as months and years passed by I forgot about it. I don’t even know in which court the case was going on. I heard about some Muslim boys being arrested and then someone said a Hindu group and (Swami) Aseemanand were involved. I don’t have much about idea about it. Justice is delayed, but I am sure God will punish the guilty,” Riyaz told The Indian Express.

Swami Aseemanand, a former RSS activist, was arrested on November 19, 2010, in connection with the Mecca Masjid blast after he gave a signed declaration that he and several members of Abhinav Bharat had conspired and executed the bomb blast at the mosque. He was later granted bail on March 23, 2017.

On May 18, 2007, Riyaz’s father and brother-in-law had gone to the Mecca Masjid to offer funeral prayers for his grandfather when a pipe bomb exploded around 1.15pm. While eight people were killed on the spot, five others were killed when police opened fire to quell a rioting mob following the blast at the mosque.

“Suddenly, the breadwinner was no more. My mother had passed away in 2001. I was left with a widowed sister, two younger brothers, and a little sister who was 9 then. I had dropped out of school in class IX,” Riyaz says, adding that father, who was an autorickshaw driver, earned about Rs 200 per day.

For six months, Riyaz took up some odd jobs for the sustenance of his family. Later, he got a job as an office subordinate in Government ITI at Mallepally and Rs 5 lakh as part of government’s compensation.

Like him, the families, who once lived in the ‘gallis’ around the mosque and Charminar have mixed feelings about what to expect from the court’s verdict.

In less than six months, after the blast, all the families of the dead had dispersed across the city in search of livelihood. The Hussaini Alam Police Station, where the case was registered before the investigation was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation and then National Investigation Agency, has no address record of at least four such families.

Printing press owner Saiyed Akhil Ali, who lost his 19-year-old brother Adil in the blast, says that the case has dragged on for too long. “He was just 19 and was a very gifted boy. He was looking forward to start work as an animation artist when he died in the blast,” says Ali.

“Sometimes, I read in snippets in newspapers about the case, but we have forgotten about it over the years. It is painful when I remember my brother, but I am not even sure what kind of justice we should expect. We are too busy making ends meet,” he adds. His family shifted to Falaknuma after the tragedy.

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Twists & turns
On May 18, 2007, a pipe bomb ripped through the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, killing eight people on the spot. Five others were killed as police opened fire to quell a rioting mob.

Hyderabad Police detained at least 38 Muslim youths on suspicion of being involved in the planning and execution of the blast. The case was first registered at Hussaini Alam Police Station.

June 9, 2007, the case was handed over to CBI.

The NIA took over the case in April 7, 2011.

The trial is going on in the IV Additional Metropolitan Session Court, a special NIA court, at Nampally court complex. The CBI and NIA filed charge sheets against 10 accused, all members of Abhinav Bharat, including Nabakumar Sirkar alias Swami Aseemanand; Devender Gupta; Lokesh Sharma alias Ajay Tiwari, Lakshman Das Maharaj, Mohanlal Rateshwar and Rajender Chowdhary. Two accused, Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, are still shown as absconding. A key accused and RSS functionary, Sunil Joshi, was shot by unknown persons on December 29, 2007 in Dewas, MP.

During the trial, the prosecution led by NIA’s Chief Public Prosecutor N Harinath, examined 226 listed witnesses. During examination 64 of them, including Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, turned hostile on February 14, 2018. Purohit claimed that his statement was never recorded, either by the CBI or NIA. NIA’s Special Public Prosecutor N Harinath told The Indian Express that Purohit was listed as witness to identify Swami Aseemanand, Sunil Joshi, Devendra Gupta and other accused, and prove that Aseemanand called him after the murder of Joshi, an accused in Ajmer Dargah blast case.

On March 23, 2017, Swami Aseemanand, who was arrested on November 19, 2010, in connection with the Mecca Masjid blast was granted bail. While the NIA was investigating the case, Aseemanand gave a signed declaration that he, and several members of Abhinav Bharat, had conspired and executed the bomb blast at Mecca Masjid.