Mecca Masjid Bombing - Suspected Bombers

Suspected Bombers

The National Investigation Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation and Anti Terrorist Squad (India) claim former members of the RSS were behind the Makkah Masjid bombing.

On November 19, 2010, the Central Bureau of Investigation produced the preacher Swami Aseemanand before the court in connection with the Makkah Masjid blast in Hyderabad in May 2007. Other cases that he has been linked with include 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, 2008 Malegoan & Modasa bombing and Ajmer Sharif Dargah blast. On January 15, the confession of Swami Aseemanand was published by Tehelka and CNN-IBN implicating various members of Saffron terror outfits in other cases such as Ajmer Sharif Dargah blast, 2006 Malegaon blasts, 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, 2008 Malegoan & Modasa bombing. The confession was done in front of a magistrate citing the guilt he felt after seeing innocent Muslim boys arrested in the case by the police. However in late March 2011, Aseemanand redacted his 'confession' alleging that he was coerced by the ATS to make a confession In April, 2010, Aseemanand submitted a letter to the court which said: "I have been pressured mentally and physically by the investigating agencies to 'confess' that I was behind these blasts." He also said he was threatened and pressured to become a government witness in the case.

A letter written by Aseemanand on December 20, 2010, two days after his confession to the CBI, was presented as evidence in January 2011 to show that the confession he gave was actually voluntary. The letter, which was never sent, was addressed to the presidents of India and Pakistan and explained why he had wanted to confess and tell the truth after seeing the innocent people that had been arrested and implicated with him. After Aseemanand's alleged confession, the families of the 32 men arrested in the aftermath of the bombing have begun demanding the release of the youths from jail. However, this confession was later found to be obtained under duress. In late 2011, Aseemanand wrote a petition to President of India Pratibha Patil describing torture allegedly meted out to him during his confinement, prompting the Punjab and Haryana high courts to issue a notice to the National Investigation Agency to investigate the allegations of torture

However, the South Asia Terrorism Portal, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, the National Counterterrorism Center the United States, and the United Nations reported that Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami was actually behind the attacks based on initial investigations. Noting this, security analyst Bahukutumbi Raman has questioned "the two different versions that have emerged from Indian and American investigators." The CBI have also claimed that the United States National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) does not seem to be up to date with the latest investigation, after the NCTC director cited HuJI as the perpetrators in a 2010 document to the United States Senate. The South Asia Terrorism Portal cited Vikar Ahmed as a main suspect in the blast, and also noted that on December 3, 2008 Vikar Ahmed and an accomplice, Amjad were accused of firing at police officers attempting to arrest them in Hyderabad. Vikar Ahmed also stands accused of murdering one police officer and injuring three others in an attack conducted on Friday, May 14, 2010