Judge who acquitted all accused in 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case resigns

Hyderabad: Hours after delivering the Mecca Masjid blast verdict, special NIA judge Ravinder Reddy resigned on Monday.

Reddy handed over his resignation to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge. He cited personal reasons for his resignation, and said it had nothing to do with the judgement.

Earlier on Monday, all the five accused, including right wing activist Swami Aseemanad, in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Delivering the verdict, the court said the country's top anti-terror body, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), had failed to prove anyone's guilt.

Also Read: 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case: Swami Aseemanand, all others acquitted

Nine people were killed and over 50 injured when the blast ripped through the historic mosque during Friday prayers on May 18, 2007.

After initial investigation by the local police, the case was transferred to CBI, which filed a chargesheet.

Subsequently, the NIA took over the case from the CBI in 2011.

Ten people allegedly belonging to right wing organisations were named as accused in the case.

However, only five of them -- Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Swami Aseemanand alias Naba Kumar Sarkar, Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar alias Bharat Bhai and Rajendra Chowdhary -- who were arrested and faced trial in the case.

Two other accused -- Sandeep V Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra -- are absconding while another accused Sunil Joshi had died.

A total of 226 witnesses were examined during the trial and as many as 411 documents exhibited.

In March 2017, a court in Rajasthan had sentenced Devendra Gupta and others to life in jail in the Ajmer Dargah blast case.