No link between Mecca Masjid, Malegaon blasts: Cops

Hyderabad's Muslim community has always maintained that the police were targeting them unnecessarily in connection with the Mecca Masjid blasts. They wanted investigators to also interrogate Hindu groups in connection with the blasts.

Some media reports have speculated on a possible link between Malegaon blast accused Lt Colonel Srikant Purohit and the Mecca Masjid blasts. However, the Hyderabad police maintain that they have not found any links so far. They say Purohit's remand application before the Nashik court makes no mention of the Mecca Masjid blasts.

A police official in Hyderabad also told rediff.com that they have not received any information from their counterparts in Maharashtra linking Purohit with the mosque blasts.

The Mecca Masjid blast case was handed over to the CBI, under pressure from the Muslim community. However till date there have been no concrete leads. The investigating agency had maintained that they suspected a HuJI link to the incident and said the blast was carried out to destablise the city. The Intelligence Bureau too had maintained that HuJI had carried out the blasts.

Lateed Mohammad Khan of the Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee says that he has written three letters to the CBI urging them to probe Hindu groups in connection with these blasts. He says there should be no bias during investigation and members of both communities should be interrogated.

According to Khan, nearly 100 Muslim youth have been questioned in connection with the blast. Two of the boys have been subjected to scientific tests and no concrete information has been derived from these tests.

Khan further adds that in the wake of the recent developments, he will be approaching the CBI once again.

However, the CBI is not jumping to any conclusions and maintain that no new angle to the case has come up as yet. The ATS, Mumbai say that they had no information linking the army official with the Mecca Masjid blasts.

Another interesting aspect to the Mecca Masjid blasts is the directive given by Riaz Bhatkal, an Indian Mujahideen member, to one of the IM operatives. During the investigation of the Delhi blasts case, one of the accused had said that Bhatkal had directed them to plant bombs at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat in order to avenge the Mecca Masjid blasts which according to him was undertaken by Hindu groups.