Mecca Masjid Blast
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A blast occurred on 18 May 2007 inside the Makkah Masjid, a mosque located in the old city area of
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
, capital of the
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
located very close to
Charminar The Charminar () is a monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana. The Charminar's long history includes the existence of a m ...
. The blast was caused by a
cellphone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...
-triggered
pipe bomb A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device (IED) that uses a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively larg ...
placed near the site designated for ablution. Two further live IEDs were found and defused by the police. 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 angered by what they considered police failure to protect the Muslims during their worship. On 16 April 2018, the NIA Court acquitted all 11 who were accused in the blasts, citing lack of evidence.


Overview

The bomb exploded around 1:15 pm in Mecca Masjid, a 400-year-old mosque in Hyderabad. The IED contained
cyclotol Cyclotol is an explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is related to the more common Composition B, which is roughly 60% RDX and 40% TNT; various compositions of Cyclotol contain from 65% to 80% RDX. Typical ranges are fr ...
, a 60:40 mixture of
RDX RDX (Research Department Explosive or Royal Demolition Explosive) or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (CH2N2O2)3. It is white, odorless, and tasteless, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified ...
and TNT, filled in a by pipe. The bomb was placed under a heavy
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
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. The blast occurred near the open-air section of the masjid. At the time of the blast more than 10,000 people were inside the
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
premises, for the Friday prayers. The injured were treated at the Osmania hospital in Hyderabad.


Rioting and Police firing

Five individuals died as a result of the police firing which caused considerable controversy, ''The Telegraph'' reported: :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 was reported that 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. 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 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 ... As the situation turned worse, I sought additional forces. Quick Reaction teams along with Moghalpura Inspector arrived and scattered the crowd by opening fire"'', Sudhakar said. At least 10 persons, including policemen, could have been killed had fire orders were not issued, he added.


Investigation

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 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and gover ...
.


Early suspects and theories

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. In August 2007, one of the two suspects was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Karachi. On 3 December 2008, a third suspect was arrested. In August 2010, security analyst Bahukutumbi Raman questioned "the two different versions that have emerged from Indian and American investigators." In September 2010, it was reported that the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) had thought that Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) could have been behind the attacks based on initial investigations, before the
Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and gover ...
took over the case. The CBI claimed that the NCTC was not "up to date with the latest investigation", after the NCTC director claimed HuJI as the perpetrators in a 2010 document to the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
.


Main investigation

On 19 November 2010, the CBI produced the preacher
Swami Aseemanand Swami Aseemanand (born Naba Kumar Sarkar) is a self-proclaimed monk and a former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist who was accused in the Ajmer Dargah bombing, Mecca Masjid blast, and the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings— before being acqu ...
before the court in connection with the Makkah Masjid blast in Hyderabad in May 2007. 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. 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. The case "revealed for the first time conclusive evidence of " Hindutva terror"," and took the investigation in a new direction. The Anti Terrorist Squad (India) (ATS) and CBI subsequently questioned former members of the
RSS RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many ...
,HC notice to NIA on Aseemanand petition
Times of India – 29 November 2011
and in December 2010 charged Aseemanand as the mastermind behind the Makkah Masjid bombing. 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. 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. On 15 January, the full court confession was published by Tehelka and CNN-IBN.


Forced confession complaint

In late March 2011, Aseemanand attempted to withdraw his 'confession', claiming that he had been coerced by the ATS, 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.


Court hearings and verdict

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. Special NIA judge Ravindra Reddy resigned after the verdict.


Aftermath

In late 2011, Aseemanand wrote a petition to
President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...
Pratibha Patil describing torture allegedly meted out to him during his confinement, prompting the
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
and
Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
high courts to issue a notice to the
National Investigation Agency The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the principal counter-terrorism law enforcement agency in India. Established under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, it is tasked with investigating and combating offenses related to terroris ...
to investigate the allegations of torture. In January 2013, then-Indian
Home Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...
Sushilkumar Shinde, of
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
, accused
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...
and
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
for setting up camps to train terrorists, and alleged involvement in planting bombs in the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Mecca Masjid blast and 2006 Malegaon blasts. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh spokesperson Ram Madhav responded to this allegation by accusing Shinde of pandering to Islamist groups like Jamaat-ud-Dawah and
Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist militant organization driven by a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist ideology. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 19 ...
. In February 2013, after BJP threatened to boycott the parliament during the Budget session, Shinde apologised for his remarks and said that he had no intention to link terror to any religion and that there was no basis for suggesting that terror can be linked to organisations mentioned in his earlier speech. In September 2013, Yasin Bhatkal confessed that Indian Mujahideen had bombed two other places in
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
later in August 2007 to avenge Makkah Masjid blast which was then allegedly attributed to Hindu fundamental groups.


See also

*
Religious violence in India Religious violence in India includes acts of violence by followers of one religious group against followers and institutions of another religious group, often in the form of rioting. Religious violence in India has generally involved Hindus and ...
* Saffron Terror * Terrorism in India * 2006 Malegaon blasts * 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings *2007 Ajmer Dargah attack * 2008 Malegoan & Modasa bombing


References


Citations


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External links


Article on Zee NewsBomb hits mosque in IndiaBomb hits Indian Mosque
(MSNBC)

(CNN) {{DEFAULTSORT:Makkah Masjid Bombing 21st-century mass murder in India Mass murder in 2007 2007 building bombings Terrorist incidents in Hyderabad, India Mosque bombings in India 2007 in Islam Terrorist incidents in India in 2007 May 2007 in Asia Hindu terrorist incidents Indian Mujahideen attacks 21st century in Hyderabad, India 21st-century attacks on mosques