Will try to get Aseemanand's bail cancelled: Telangana govt

Hyderabad: The Telangana Government will take steps to get the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast accused Swami Aseemanand's bail "cancelled", the Legislative Assembly was told today. The MIM (Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen) floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi raised the matter through a Point during Zero Hour in the House. The court of the Fourth Metropolitan Sessions Judge here yesterday granted bail to Aseemanand and Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar alias Bharat Bhai, a co-accused in the case.

In his reply, Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy said, "Whatever question raised by the member Akbaruddin Owaisi is a valid question. Definitely, an inquiry will be conducted on how he (Aseemanand) got bail. Efforts will be made to get the bail cancelled. We will ensure justice is done." The MIM MLA demanded that the TRS government should "pressurise" the NIA (National Investigation Agency), which is probing the case, to ensure that the bail granted to the right-wing activist, Swami Aseemanand gets cancelled. "The cases were registered and Hindutva members were arrested after the CBI inquiry. However, Swami Aseemanand was granted bail by a court.

I appeal to the government to put pressure on NIA and they should be told that whoever has got bail in the (Mecca Masjid bomb blasts case)...their bails get cancelled," Owaisi said. Alleging that Aseemanand is a "Deshatgard" (terrorist), Owaisi said that terrorists have no religion. "Whether it is Osama Bin Laden or Aseemanand, terrorists should be dealt with sternly. I am hopeful that the government will prevail upon and pressurise the NIA to get the bail to Aseemanand cancelled and he, along with others, is sent back to jail," the MLA said. 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 here on May 18, 2007, which had killed nine persons.

On March 8 this year, Aseemanand and six others were acquitted in the 2007 Ajmer blast case by a court in Jaipur. He was then brought from Jaipur and lodged in a prison here. Owaisi also demanded that the government should make public the Bhaskar Rao Committee Report on the Mecca Masjid blast and subsequent events. While granting the bail, the court had asked Aseemanand not to leave Hyderabad without court's permission and remain present for the trial when required. However, whether NIA will challenge the bail or otherwise is not known.