Hyderabad, May 18: Three years after the Makkah Masjid blasts, justice still eludes the victims of the explosions, and of the subsequent police firing and torture in the name of “investigation”, the Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC) said here today.
Five worshipers were killed at Makkah Masjid and nine in the police firing on 18 May 2007.
CLMC general secretary Lateef Mohd Khan, at a press conference, urged the Justice Bhaskar Rao Commission probing the circumstances that led to the police firing to submit its report at the earliest.
He also demanded action against the police personnel responsible for the firing.
Lateef Khan said the conclusions of the CLMC’s fact-finding team that Hindutva forces were behind the blasts was borne out by the CBI’s probe into the activities of Abhinav Bharat.
“The Hyderabad police is branding Muslim youths as terrorists and torturing them in the name of interrogation,” he alleged.
The CLMC demanded that the CBI, which is probing the Makkah Masjid blasts case, should also look into the nexus between the Hindutva organisations and anti-Muslim police officers.
“Officers of the city police had misled the CBI in their investigation,” Lateef Khan alleged.
Makkah Masjid on High Alert
In view of the recent terror attack, police have beefed up security in the city ahead of the third anniversary of the Makkah Masjid blast on Tuesday.
Apart from the 6,000 strong city police force, about 1,000 additional force from Octopus, Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) will be deployed across the city. However, special emphasis will be on South Zone where about half of the force would be on the ground.
Taking Makkah mosque as a centre point, police have formed a three-tier security arrangements in the surrounding areas. At first level, police teams would keep a watch on movement of people moving in towards Charminar from Afzalgunj, Falaknuma, Bahadurpura and Yakutpura. Vehicle checking would be carried out by the forces. Armed pickets have already been put in place at strategic locations with personnel ready to block the road immediately on an alert.
Finally, armed police personnel would be guarding the mosque surroundings.
Special mobile striking teams have been kept ready to counter any kind of surprise terror attack. Intelligence sleuths in mufti would be stationed at public places like food joints and look for suspicious elements.
City police finally seemed to have woken up after the third firing incident on police in three consecutive years. Sensing the gravity of the situation and to boost the morale of the force, Hyderabad police commissioner A K Khan formed a special team to investigate the Shah Ali Banda firing incident. The team is different from SIT, which is loaded with investigation of several other terror-related cases. “The team comprises of personnel from various city police units, who have expertise in handling terror-related cases. The team’s singe point agenda is to nab the people behind Shah Ali Banda firing case,” a senior police official said.
The police commissioner has announced Rs five lakh reward for anyone providing information about the Shah Ali Banda firing case and gave a mobile number to contact. “We have received a few calls but so far there have not been any concrete leads pointing towards the suspects,” an investigating officer said.
-Agencies