Hyderabad: A special NIA Court, on Monday, acquitted Swami Aseemanand and four others in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case.
Five persons – Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Swami Aseemanand alias Naba Kumar Sarkar, Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar alias Bharat Bhai and Rajendra Chowdhary, were arrested and faced trial in the case, while two other accused – Sandeep V Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra, are absconding. Sunil Joshi, the eight person accused in the case, has died. While Swami Assemanand and Bharat Mohanlal were out on bail, the three others were lodged in the Central prison of Hyderabad.
A total of 226 witnesses were examined during the trial of the blast.
A total of nine persons were killed and 58 others were injured when blasts rocked the popular Mecca Masjid on May 18, 2007.
