Seventeen years ago, on May 18, a Friday, a blast caused by an improvised explosive device shattered the calm of the sprawling courtyard of the Mecca Masjid. It killed nine people and wounded dozens. The perpetrators of this heinous act of terror are yet to be brought to justice.
Records show that the youngest victim was 12-year-old Mohammed Sameer, while the others were identified as 25-year-old Mohammed Jaffer and Sk. Mohd Nayeem, 17-year-old Md Azeem, 18-year-old Mohammed Riyaz, 27-year-old Shafiq-ur-Rahman, 36-year-old Yusuf Khan and 28-year-old Sajed Ali Khan, the ninth victim remained unidentified. The blast injured as many as 58 others.
In April 2018, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court acquitted the accused — Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Bharath Mohan Lal Rateshwar and Rajendra Choundary, and Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand. The NIA chose not to go in for an appeal.
