Mecca masjid blast verdict: BJP demands apology from Rahul Gandhi for coining 'Hindu Terror' term

The sensational case took many twists and turns. A total of three charge sheets were filed by the CBI and the NIA.

Image: BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra (ANI)

Hyderabad: Within hours after National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here on Monday acquitted all five accused in the Mecca Masjid case, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra came out all guns blazing on Congress president Rahul Gandhi. "Congress coined the term "Hindu Terror", now after the court verdict on Mecca Masjid blast, the party stands exposed. Will Rahul Gandhi take out a midnight march with a lighted lamp and apologise for defaming the Hindu religion?" said Sambit Patra.

Congress coined the term "Hindu Terror", now after the court verdict on Mecca Masjid blast, the party stands exposed. Will Rahul Gandhi take out a midnight march with a lighted lamp and apologise for defaming the Hindu religion? Sambit Patra, BJP spokesperson @sambitswaraj pic.twitter.com/IV8qJO1xGL

— ABP News (@abpnewstv) April 16, 2018

What's the case all about? It is worth mentioning here that eleven years after a powerful explosion killed nine people and injured over 50 during Friday prayers near the iconic Charminar here, a court acquitted all five accused-Nabakumar Sarkar alias Swamy Aseemanand, Devender Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar alias Bharat Bhai and Rajender Chowdhary. On May 18, 2007, the explosion ripped through the mosque and two live IEDs were also recovered by police and defused. There were a total of eight accused in the case. One, Sunil Joshi, a RSS pracharak, was murdered during the course of the investigation. Two other accused, Sandeep V. Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra, both RSS activists, still elude the investigators. Monday's judgement was about five accused who were charge-sheeted by NIA, reported news agency IANS. The sensational case took many twists and turns. A total of three charge sheets were filed by the CBI and the NIA. The city police, which initially took up investigation, blamed Harkatul Jihad Islami and rounded up about 100 Muslim youths. All those arrested and jailed were acquitted in 2008 and the subsequent investigations by the CBI in 2010 revealed that the blast was the handiwork of Hindu rightwing group Abhinav Bharat. The case was handed over to NIA on April 4, 2011, news agency reported.