India News
Mecca Masjid blasts: Acquittal due to lack of evidence indicates botched up investigation, nothing more
As Hindutva groups with BJP leaders in the forefront gloat over the acquittals of their fellow travellers in Mecca Masjid blasts case, a few facts need to be kept in mind to put things in proper perspective.
First, it is wrong to say that acquittals ‘prove’ Hindutva elements are not involved in terror. Among the acquitted is one, Devendra Gupta, a former RSS pracharak, who was convicted in March last year in Ajmer Dargah blast that happened the same year – 2007 – as Mecca Masjid blasts.
The court said the NIA had established that Gupta had bought the cell phone SIM cards used to time and trigger the bombs kept at the Sufi shrine.
Second is the fake allegation that the Congress-led UPA government got Hindutva groups implicated in all terror cases under an agenda.
When the cases were taken over by NIA, the Union Home Secretary was a current member of PM Narendra Modi’s council of ministers, RK Singh, handpicked for the top home ministry post by then home minister P Chidambaram.
It was RK Singh who had disclosed the role of RSS-linked groups in the bomb blasts.
Third, these terror cases had common links.
The SIM cards used in the blast were part of the set used in the Ajmer Dargah blast.
A SIM recovered from an unexploded bomb at Mecca Masjid blast site had matched with a phone used in the Ajmer Dargah blast. Mobile phones and SIMs used in the Ajmer blast were similar to the ones used in the Mecca Masjid blast. The phones even had similar IMEI numbers and SIM card numbers were also in a sequence.
In Ajmer Dargah blast case, Devendra Gupta was convicted along with Bhavesh Patel and Sunil Joshi.
A resident of Bharuch in Gujarat, Bhavesh had allegedly planted two bombs at Ajmer Dargah but only one exploded, the probe agency stated. Two SIM cards found in the unexploded bomb became the first material evidence in the case and led the conviction of the duo.
Fourth, at Mecca Masjid blast site, it was found that only one of the two bombs had exploded. The unexploded IED, a red shirt and a key were recovered from the site.
Till date, it is not known what the key was meant for and who the redshirt belonged to. At first, it was believed that the key was meant to trigger the device, but forensics went on to show that there was a mismatch between the key and the explosive device.
The mystery regarding the redshirt also continues. Interestingly when the case was handed over the NIA by the CBI, the red shirt was missing. The NIA never received the shirt. The shirt would have been crucial to the probe as it would have helped in DNA sampling. Who got it removed?
Fifth, a prime accused Aseemanand, who had also been acquitted in Ajmer Sharif Dargah blast case last year due to lack of evidence, turned hostile. He retracted his confessional statement with the claim that it was extracted under duress.
Fact is, he had given that statement to the judicial officer, over two days when he was in judicial custody. There were no policemen around to threaten or pressurise him.
The NIA had placed heavy reliance on Aseemanand’s confessional statement in which he had said that he decided to come clean was after meeting with one youth called Abdul Kaleem. He said that Kaleem who was in a Hyderabad jail was tortured in connection with the same case and hence he decided to spill the beans.
In fact, the police – NIA in this case – in a way, cooperated with him and did not oppose his bail application either in Samjhauta train blast case or in Mecca Masjid blast case, which it should have done routinely. This was hardly normal. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had granted bail to Aseemanand in Samjhauta train blast case in 2014. He was granted bail in 2017 in Mecca Masjid blasts case as well.
Swami Aseemanand, whose real name is Naba Kumar Sarkar, was arrested on November 19, 2010, from Haridwar in connection with the blast at the Mecca Masjid on May 18, 2007. A resident of Gujarat, Aseemanand now faces trial only in the 2007 Samjhauta Express train blast case in which 68 people were killed.
In addition to Aseemanand, there were many other witnesses who turned hostile and this proved to be fatal to the case.
Sixth, and finally, the argument that since the chargesheet was prepared under Congress-led UP and hence the BJP government could not be accused of trying to influence prosecution does not wash. Without going into whether Modi government tried to do so or not, the fact is certainly could do it. Letting witnesses go and not following up evidence, not contesting bails, and not arguing the prosecution case properly, among others, are all possible. In Malegaon blasts case, this was exactly what the former prosecutor Rohini Salian had said when she alleged that she had been asked to ‘go soft’ against the accused.
India News
Earthquake of 6.2 magnitude on Richter scale shakes up Delhi-NCR, North India
Reports said the tremors were felt acutely by people residing in high rises and many fled by staircase to the groundfloor and were awaiting more aftershocks.
Strong tremors lasting almost a minute rocked parts of Delhi-National Capital Region, and several northern states after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake at its epicentre hit Nepal.
Reports said the tremors were felt acutely by people residing in high-rises and many fled by staircase to the groundfloor and were awaiting more aftershocks. Similar sights were visible in the region’s office districts. The tremors were also felt in parts of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand just after 2.45 pm. According to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority website, “Delhi is located in zone IV which has fairly high seismicity where the general occurrence of earthquakes is of 5-6 magnitude, a few of magnitude 6-7 and occasionally of 7-8 magnitude. Delhi thus lies among the high-risk areas.” The site adds that Delhi and the union territory region has already seen five earthquakes of the 5.5 to 6.7 scale since 1720.
There has been no report of damage to life and property as of now and reports are awaited on the situation in Nepal. Seismologists said the epicentre was 5 km underground in Bhatekhola in Nepal. The Himalayan country has already faced a massive quake on April 25, 2015 of 7.8 magnitude. Some 9,000 people died and injured more than 20,000.
India News
Watch: Nitin Gadkari takes a test drive on hydrogen bus in Prague
In the video Gadkari is seen seated on the bus while officials surround him standing. One of the officials asked about the distance the bus can cover in a single charge. Gadkari said the visit is part of India’s commitment to eco friendly and sustainable transportation solutions.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is currently on an official visit to the Czech Republic. He took a test drive in a hydrogen bus. Nitin Gadkari took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared a video of the bus ride. In the video Gadkari can be seen surrounded by a group of officials.
In the video Gadkari is seen seated on the bus while officials surround him standing. One of the officials asked about the distance the bus can cover in a single charge. Gadkari said the visit is part of India’s commitment to eco friendly and sustainable transportation solutions. The video is captioned Hydrogen buses are a beacon of hope in India’s fight against environment degradation and carbon emissions. The buses will pave a greener and cleaner future.
The union minister posted a series of photographs on X, which showed the Gadkari’s test drive. Hydrogen fuel celled powered buses use air and hydrogen to generate electricity. It is a more environment friendly and sustainable mode of public transportation.
Gadkari arrived in the Czech Republic on October 1. He received a warm welcome at the Prague airport. He also participated on the ministerial session on road safety at the 27th World Road Congress in Prague. The Minister reaffirmed India’s dedication to achieving road safety targets which are outlined in the Stockholm Declarartion.
Nitin Gadkari has clearly advocated asserting that advancements and transition to green fuel. This will reduce the cost of electric vehicles when compared to petrol run vehicles within a span of two years. Variety of comments started coming on X (formerly twitter). One social media user said all school and state run buses would be run on hydrogen in the coming days. One X User was asked about the mass production of hydrogen cars. One user said the video was highly inspiring.
India News
Watch: Rajasthan independent MLA Om Prakash Hudla polishes people’s shoes
Hudla did a similar act in the year 2018. He won the election from Dausa constituency. Talking to the media Hudla said he took the initiative to polish the shoes of workers and voters. He said he wanted to make them realize MLAs are their employees and not vice versa.
As the election fever grips Rajasthan independent MLA Om Prakash Hudla became a cobbler in Dausa. He polished people’s shoes. In a video going viral on social media, Hudla is seen wearing a garland and polishing the elderly man’s shoes. He later helps the man to put the shoes on.
Many people have surrounded the MLA. One man even threw rose petals on him. Hudla did a similar act in the year 2018. He won the election from Dausa constituency. Talking to the media Hudla said he took the initiative to polish the shoes of workers and voters. He said he wanted to make them realize MLAs are their employees and not vice versa.
He said he has done it before. He was doing it again and he would continue to do it in the future. Hudla also hosted a tricolor outside a hospital on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. Rajasthan will have assembly elections later this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh in preparation for the upcoming state elections. PM Modi slammed Ashok Gehlot led congress government in the state and said the Rajasthan state had been destroyed in the past five years.
PM Modi said every leader of Congress, Tyrant, rioter, goon and corrupt person has considered himself the government of Rajasthan. PM Modi added Congress had left no stone unturned in looting the state. He added The Congress has successfully deceived the people of Rajasthan.
But the Congress had failed to run the government in the state. He said Ashok Gehlot was trying to save his chief minister’s chair and almost half of the Congress party was trying to unseat him. Pilot and Gehlot have been up against each other over the past few years as Pilot was trying his level best to replace Gehlot in the Chief Minister’s position.
