'I've come here as a commoner. Justice is needed to ensure that this incident is never repeated.'
Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba and pray at the Grand mosque during the annual Haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca, ahead of Eid al-Adha which marks the end of Haj.
Police teams from both Rajasthan and Hyderabad confirmed on Saturday that the same operatives carried out both the Mecca Masjid and the Hyderabad blasts. The link has been established in the form of a sim card, found in one of the bags outside the blast site, which is reportedly in the name of one Babu Lal Yadav. A sim card found at the blast site in Mecca Masjid was also in the name of Babu Lal Yadav.
Andhra Pradesh has released Rs 70 lakh for innocent Muslim youths arrested and tortured in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case. But the minority community continues to be miffed for the compensation comes from the Mecca Masjid kitty and not the chief minister's funds. Vicky Nanjappa reports
The blast occurred when thousands were offering their Friday afternoon prayers.
The world's largest clock will soon start ticking atop a soaring skyscraper in Islam's holiest city of Mecca, according to a report on Tuesday.
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.
Over 2,000 Indians are providing selfless services to millions Haj pilgrims from all over the world who have gathered in the holy city of Mecca, forming the largest expatriate volunteer group.
West Indies skipper Rovman Powell lauded Hope for showing his mettle after being dropped for the contest against England.
Authorities of Hyderabad's Chanchalguda Central Jail have expressed their inability to provide necessary protection to two members of Hindu militant organisation.
May 18, 2011 makes it four years since a blast at Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid claimed 14 lives. However, there has been no breakthrough in case with the investigation going on at a snail's pace. Lateed Mohammad Khan, convenor of the Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee that has been fighting the case of the Muslim youth who were falsely implicated in the blast, says that the Hyderabad police protected Hindu radicals behind the bombing. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
At least 50 suspects were picked up from Hyderabad city alone for allegedly carrying out both Mecca Masjid and Ajmer blasts. All of them have been acquitted by the court and they currently are seeking an apology coupled with compensation from the Hyderabad police.
Two persons including a Hyderabadi woman has been arrested in the Mecca Masjid blasts case, police said on Friday.
Twenty-five-year old, who lost a leg in the 2007 attack, suffered severe spine injuries in Wednesday's blast that ripped through Hyderabad's Dilsukh Nagar. Vicky Nanjappa reports
The case has seen several twists and turns. The needle of suspicion was first cast on Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihadi terrorist Shahid Bilal -- accused of trying to create communal tension in Hyderabad. The probe was then divided. While the bombing is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the incident relating to police firing is being looked into by the Hyderabad police.
A chargesheet was filed on Monday against right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand by the National Investigation Agency for his alleged role in the conspiracy behind the 2007 Mecca Masjid blasts that left nine people dead.
Launching its probe into suspected role of right-wing groups in terror acts, a Central probe agency has taken over investigation of three blast cases -- Mecca Masjid, Ajmer Sharif and Malegaon -- in which the cadres of Abhinav Bharat are alleged to be involved.
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.
The Muslim community in Hyderabad are enthused by the Central Bureau of Investigation's statement which said that both the Ajmer and the Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blasts were interlinked.
Hindutva preacher Swami Aseemanand and four others were acquitted in the Mecca Masjid blast with the judge saying that the prosecution failed to prove "even a single allegation" against them.
Well-known Islamic scholar and cleric Maulana Salman Hussain Nadwi is under fire from different quarters for attempting to run down the Imam of the Islamic world's most revered Mecca mosque.
The Central Bureau of Investigation's probe in the Mecca Masjid blast case has brought yet another blunder by the Hyderabad city police to the fore.
A special CBI court in Hyderabad on Monday remanded Devender Gupta, a prime suspect in Mecca Masjid bomb blast case to the CBI custody till June 30 for questioning.
All the accused were acquitted on Wednesday by the seventh additional metropolitan sessions judge for lack of evidence.
The stars met up during a prayer meet in Mecca.
The Nizam was laid to rest at the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad with full State honours. Thousands of mourners took part in the funeral procession.
Strong winds and heavy rains caused the crane to fall
A city court in Hyderabad on Friday granted bail to Bharath Mohanlal Rateswar alias Bharat Bhai, an accused in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case, however, his remand will continue in connection with the Ajmer blast case.
The hopes of Lokesh Sharma and Devender Gupta, the two Abhinav Bharat activists accused in the Mecca Masjid blast case in Hyderabad, of coming out of jail have shattered as the Andhra Pradesh high court has rejected their bail petition.
A man allegedly forged a letter in the name of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and presented it before the consul general of Saudi Arabia to procure a visa to visit Mecca and Medina, police said on Tuesday.
The Hyderabad police has detained six local youth who were earlier arrested in connection with the Mecca Masjid blast of 2007 but acquitted by the courts.
A Hyderabad court on Wednesday sent Devender Gupta, an accused in the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast, to 14-day judicial custody.
Glimpses from the annual Haj pilgrimage outside Mecca.
An investigating officer said that the cell-phone and remote control device recovered on Sunday would help police investigations by providing vital clues about the persons/organisations behind the blast.
After getting custody of Devender Gupta, an accused in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday filed a petition before a local court seeking custodial interrogation of another accused Lokesh Sharma. Gupta and Sharma were brought to Hyderabad by CBI from Ajmer on June 17, as part of further investigation into the blast that had left nine persons dead on May 18, 2007.
Even as the process of brining the two accused of Ajmer Dargah blast to Hyderabad for questioning in the Mecca Masjid blast case was continuing, the Central Bureau of Investigation has made some more headway in the three-year-old blast case.
From the Mecca of Indian cricket -- Shivaji Park -- Rediff staffers, Manu Shankar and Abhishek Mande analyse today's game!
Almost three-year-old murder case of an RSS activist Sunil Joshi in Madhya Pradesh has caught the attention of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as part of its investigations in to Mecca Masjid blast case.
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