The bombs that were used in triggering blast at the historic Mecca Masjid in 2007 were assembled in the city itself, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Also, the accused, allegedly having links with Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Indian outfit, procured material for assembling the bombs possibly from central state Madhya Pradesh, a CBI official said Monday after filing a document in a local court in connection with the case.
A cellphone-triggered pipe bomb placed at the Mecca Masjid during Friday prayers on May 18, 2007 had claimed nine lives, in western Indian
city Hyderabad, whereas five people were killed in subsequent police firing on protesters near the mosque.
The CBI, which is probing the Mecca Masjid blast, had registered a case on June 9, 2007 under various sections of IPC and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against unknown persons and also took up investigations in connection with the recovery of an un-explosive bomb inside the mosque premises.
During the investigation, roles of Sandeep Dange, Ramchandar K, Devendra Gupta and Lokesh Sharma -- all having alleged links with the RSS,
emerged, the CBI has already claimed in its petition before a local court.
The agency today filed one more memo seeking inclusion of a RSS Pracharak Sunil Joshi's name as an accused in the FIR. Joshi was shot dead by three men on December 29, 2007 near his house at Dewas in Madhya Pradesh.
The first two accused are absconding, while Devender Gupta and Lokesh Sharma, presently under judicial remand at Chanchalguda jail here, were
brought by CBI from Ajmer last week as part of further investigation into the case.
The duo was earlier arrested by Rajasthan Police in connection with the 2007 Ajmer blasts.
The bomb blast at Mecca Masjid was carried out after a well planned recee by Lokesh Sharma, who camped in the city two months prior to the
incident at a lodge in Secunderabad, a senior CBI official involved with the investigation said, adding the agency had gathered enough evidence to
establish the accused complicity in the crime.
Sharma did recee and passed on the information. After this, Sunil Joshi, Sandeep Dange and Ramchandar Kalsangrah came to Secunderabad at least two-three days prior to the blast, and on May 18 went inside the Mecca
Masjid premises as visitors and placed the bombs and just walked out, the official said.
"The bombs were assembled in Hyderabad itself. They made four bombs that resembled like grenades and the material like iron pipes were procured from Madhya Pradesh.
"Two of the pipe bombs were placed at Mecca Masjid, though only one exploded, while the remaining two were used in the Ajmer blasts," the CBI official said.
"Gupta was also part of the conspiracy and has a role in purchase of SIM cards and timer devices which were used to trigger the blast," he said, adding that how the accused procured the RDX was being investigated.
The accused planned to carry out similar blasts at iconic places of Muslims across the country and succeeded in their plot by triggering another blast in Ajmer on October 12, 2007, the official added.