Mecca Masjid bombing

The Mecca Masjid bombing occurred on May 18, 2007 inside the Mecca Masjid, a mosque the old city area in Hyderabad, capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh located very close to Charminar. The blast was caused by a cellphone-triggered pipe bomb. Fourteen people were reported dead in the immediate aftermath, of whom five(official record:disputed) were killed by the police firing after the incident while trying to quell the mob.

Overview
According to the Deccan Chronicle, the bomb comprised a high explosive substance filled in a 10 in by 3 in pipe. The Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory claims that RDX and TNT were used in the 10 in by 3 in pipe bomb. The bomb was placed under a heavy granite slab that broke in two. Police later said that the slab had taken the force of the impact and saved many lives.

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. The injured were treated at the Osmania hospital in Hyderabad.

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.

Rioting and Police firing
Five individuals died as a result of the police firing. This has caused considerable controversy. The Telegraph reports :


 * 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 Moghapura 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 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," 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.

Suspected bombers
While the United Progressive Alliance-led central government has claimed that Abhinav Bharat was behind the Mecca Masjid bombing, the South Asia Terrorism Portal , the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses , the National Counterterrorism Center the United States , and the United Nations have asserted that the Islamic outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami was actually behind the attacks. Noting this, security analyst Bahukutumbi Raman has questioned "the two different versions that have emerged from Indian and American investigators."

The Central Bureau of Investigation today produced the preacher Swami Asimanand before the court in connection with the Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad in May 2007. The court remanded Swami Asimanand to CBI custody till 30th of November and was taken to Chanchalguda Jail. He was nabbed in Haridwar on Friday and was brought to Hyderabad today. The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi had granted CBI the transit remand of Swami for two days. Today the CBI produced him in the CBI Court seeking his custody. Two more accused in the case are already in judicial custody. The face of the Swami was covered when he was taken inside the designated court in Nampally.