Hyderabad, June 18: Hyderabad Commissioner of Police A K Khan today denied allegations that police picked up innocent Muslim youths in connection with 2007 Makkah Masjid blast here.
“Nobody had been arrested by Hyderabad Police with regard to the Makkah Masjid blast case. Some 96 youths were picked up and around 70-75 were released immediately after interrogation and 22 others were arrested on charges of possessing multiple SIM cards and passports obtained through forged documents,” Khan told reporters here.
The CBI has now solved the case and two accused Devender Gupta and Lokesh Sharma (allegedly having links with right wing Hindu outfits) involved in Makkah Masjid blast case have been brought to Hyderabad from Ajmer and sent to judicial remand till June 30 after being produced before a local court, Khan said.
A cellphone-triggered pipe bomb that went off at the historic Makkah Masjid during Friday prayers on May 18, 2007 had claimed nine lives and five people were killed in police firing to control the situation erupted after it.
Following the arrest of Gupta and Sharma by Rajasthan Police in connection with the 2007 Ajmer blasts, the CBI had said that in both the Ajmer and Hyderabad blasts, identical explosives were used.
After these revelations, Muslim groups here last month had demanded a fresh probe into the Makkah Masjid case, alleging that over 100 Muslim youths were picked up for questioning after the blast and were allegedly falsely implicated. The groups had also demanded action against police officials saying they allegedly arrested innocent Muslim youths without any charge and tortured them.
-PTI