CBI quizzes Aseemanand in Mecca Masjid case

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday began interrogation of Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case, after taking him into their custody from Chanchalguda Central Prison in Hyderabad, official sources said.

After the XIV Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court here had yesterday remanded Aseemanand in seven days police custody.

He was on Saturday handed over to the CBI officials for further interrogation, they said. According to CBI, the 59-year-old Aseemanand whose real name is Naba Kumar Sarkar, who had been on the run since 2008, was arrested on November 19 from Haridwar in connection with the blast at the historic masjid in Hyderabad on May 18, 2007, that killed nine people.

The Central investigation agency has claimed that the complicity of Aseemanand in the criminal conspiracy in the blast case came to light recently.

"As part of further interrogation, we will also take Aseemanand to Gujarat, Delhi and other places," a senior Investigating Officer told PTI. Through the interrogation of Aseemanand, the CBI wants to extract details on the whereabouts of other accused including two prime accused in the Mecca Masjid case--Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra alias Ramji, both natives of Indore, who continue to remain elusive, he said.

The CBI in its case diary filed before the court had submitted that Aseemanand gave shelter to his co-accused after the Mecca Masjid blast.

"Such places had to be located, and also ascertained if Aseemanand provided financial assistance to the co-accused," the agency said.

The CBI has so far named five persons, all allegedly having links with a right-wing Hindu outfit, as accused in the case and brought two Ajmer blast accused, Devender Gupta and Lokesh Sharma to Hyderabad on June 17, as part of investigation into the Mecca Masjid case.

Gupta and Sharma are presently under judicial remand in a prison here. The CBI officials had recovered few false documents from the "hideout" of Aseemanand at Bhadurabad in Haridwar besides Rs 39,350 from his possession and it wants to ascertain the source of the amount.

The CBI and Maharashtra ATS had earlier carried out searches at various places in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat as he was also wanted for his suspected role in connection with Malegaon bomb blast case.