The Mecca Masjid blast occurred on 18 May 2007 inside the Mecca Masjid, (or "Makkah Masjid") a mosque located in the old city area of Hyderabad,[2] capital of the IndianstateofTelangana located very close to Charminar. The blast was caused by a cellphone-triggered pipe bomb placed near the place where ablutions are performed. Two further live IEDs were found and defused by the police.[3][4] Sixteen people were reported dead in the immediate aftermath, of whom five were killed by the police firing after the incident while trying to quell the mob.[1]
On 16 April 2018, the NIA Court acquitted all 11 who were accused in the blasts, citing lack of evidence.[5]
The bomb exploded around 1:15 pm in Mecca Masjid, a 400-year-old mosque in Hyderabad.[3] The IED contained cyclotol, a 60:40 mixture of RDX and TNT,[6] filled in a 10-inch (250 mm) by 3-inch (76 mm) pipe.[7] The bomb was placed under a heavy marble platform, which took the force of the impact and saved many lives. Two more IEDs were found, one 100 meters away from the blast site and the other near the main gate. Both of them were defused 3 hours after the blast.[7]
The blast occurred near the open air section of the Mecca Masjid. At the time of the blast more than 10,000 people were inside the mosque premises, for the Friday prayers.[3] The injured were treated at the Osmania hospital in Hyderabad.[8]
Following this Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra were put on alert. State Home Minister K Jana Reddy said the blast, which injured over fifty people in addition to the death toll, could be the act of foreign elements.[citation needed]
Five individuals died as a result of the police firing, which caused considerable controversy. The Telegraph reports:[9]
Six rounds were fired in the afternoon and evening to prevent shops and public property from being damaged, including petrol pumps and ATMs. One person was killed in the firing in the Moghalpura area, while two fell to the police bullets elsewhere. Another lost his life when the police had to pull the trigger to control a mob trying to break into an ATM.
According to police commissioner Balwinder Singh, his men resorted to firing after water cannons, tear gas and baton-charge failed to bring the mob fury under control.
It is reported that[10] a frenzied mob attacked state-owned road transport corporation buses, forcing the closure of Falaknuma bus depot.
According to the police, the rioters were trying to set fire to a petrol pump.[11] Inspector P. Sudhakar of Falaknuma police station, who has been removed from his position on the charge of opening fire `indiscriminately' to control the rampaging mobs[12] stated:
"While I asked my subordinates to be on high alert, mobs from Shalibanda and the mosque came towards Moghalpura pelting stones. They set ablaze a wine shop and charged towards a petrol pump where we were stationed."
The mobs took out petrol from the dispenser and sprinkled it on the room. "When they tried to ignite it with the help of dry grass, I ordered my men to open fire with .303 rifles to disperse them," he says. "As the situation turned worse, I sought additional forces. Quick Reaction teams along with Moghalpura Inspector arrived and scattered the crowd by opening fire." At least 10 persons, including policemen, could have been killed if fire orders were not issued, he insists.
After the bombing, two police cases were opened at the Hussaini Alam Police Station, one for the exploded bomb and one for the unexploded bomb. On 9 June 2007, the former was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation.[13]
On 15 June 2007, the Special investigation Team (SIT) of Hyderabad Police initially arrested a 27-year-old air conditioner mechanic as a suspect in the bombing, and on 15 July, a 26-year-old worker at a watch repair shop was also arrested.[14] In August 2007, one of the two suspects was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Karachi.[14][15] On 3 December 2008, a third suspect was arrested.[14]
In August 2010, security analyst Bahukutumbi Raman questioned "the two different versions that have emerged from Indian and American investigators."[16]
On 19 November 2010, the CBI produced the preacher Swami Aseemanand before the court in connection with the Makkah Masjid blast in Hyderabad in May 2007.[19][20][21][22] On 18 December, he confessed in front of a magistrate, citing the guilt he felt after seeing innocent Muslim boys arrested in the case by the police.[23] The confession of Aseemanand, together with transcripts of meetings between the preacher, Sadhvi Pragya, senior military officers and others implicated Abhinav Bharat in the bombing, alongside a role in Malegaon, Samjhauta Express and Ajmer Dargah bombings.[24] The case "revealed for the first time conclusive evidence of "Hindutva terror"," and took the investigation in a new direction.[24]
In early January 2011, a letter written by Aseemanand on 20 December 2010, two days after his confession to the CBI, was revealed. The letter, which was never sent, was addressed to the presidents of India and Pakistan and explained why he had wanted to confess and tell the truth after seeing the innocent people that had been arrested and implicated with him.[35] The letter confession of the prompted families of the 32 men arrested in the aftermath of the bombing demanded the release of the youths from jail.[36] On 15 January, the full court confession was published by Tehelka and CNN-IBN.[23]
In late March 2011, Aseemanand attempted to withdraw his 'confession', claiming that he had been coerced by the ATS,[37] and submitted a letter to the court which said: "I have been pressured mentally and physically by the investigating agencies to 'confess' that I was behind these blasts." He also said he was threatened and pressured to become a government witness in the case.[38][39]
The NIA began the probe in April 2011 after the initial investigations by the local police and the chargesheet filed by the CBI. 226 witnesses were examined during the trial and about 411 documents exhibited. The verdict was pronounced by a special NIA court acquitting all the accused due to lack of evidence.[40][41]
The Special NIA judge Ravindra Reddy resigned post the verdict.[42]
In September 2013, Yasin Bhatkal confessed that Indian Mujahideen had bombed two other places in Hyderabad later in August 2007 to avenge Mecca Masjid blast which was then allegedly attributed to Hindu fundamental groups.[47]
