Mohammed Omer is trying to come to terms with the fact that nobody is responsible for killing his brother-in-law. The acquittal of all accused in the Mecca Masjid blast on Monday sounds ludicrous to him.
Mohammed Jaffar was a fruit vendor outside the Mecca Masjid and had married Mr. Omer’s sister Tahseen Sultana just eight months before the terror attack.
Patience belied
“My sister was newly married when her husband, Mohammed Jaffar, while offering Friday prayers on May 18, 2007, was injured fatally by stone pieces sent flying as result of the bomb explosion,” Mr Omer said.
Mr. Jaffar was grieviously injured in the stomach.
“He died on his way to the hospital. Years of patience for justice have culminated in sheer disappointment for us,” Mr. Omer said.
“The tragedy still haunts us,” Mr Omer says, though his sister has since remarried and got a government job as compensation. Syed Imran, one of the ‘victims of flawed investigation by police’ in the aftermath of blast, who spent more than 18 months in jail before being released for lack of evidence, said the judgement was unfortunate.
‘Shoddy investigation’
“If everyone is acquitted, who has perpetrated the blasts? This means the State police, CBI and now NIA has failed completely. What if they frame me again? They should go for an appeal,” he said, adding that he had been tortured for no fault of him.
Pointing out that Swami Aseemanand had confessed his role in the bomb attack and then changed his statement, Mr Imran said, “What is going on? I respect the verdict but the perpetrators should be brought to justice. I lost everything.”
