Mecca Masjid blast: NIA prosecutor N Harinath has ABVP link
On Monday,
an NIA court in Nampally acquitted five accused, including Swami
Aseemanand, in the case. The NIA declined comment on the empanelment of
Harinath — associated with only the Mecca Masjid bombing case — as a
prosecutor.
Written by Rahul Tripathi | New Delhi | Updated: April 18, 2018 7:21:30 am
Mecca
Masjid blast: NIA prosecutor N Harinath has ABVP link The Mecca Masjid:
the site of the blast (Express photo by Raaj Dayal)
NIA
special public prosecutor N Harinath, engaged for the 2007 Mecca Masjid
blast case, was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
(ABVP) as a student in Hyderabad and said Tuesday that he has continued to help the RSS-affiliated student body organise events.
On Monday, an NIA court in Nampally acquitted five accused, including Swami Aseemanand, in the case.
Harinath,
who took over as the NIA prosecutor when the Mecca Masjid blast trial
started in 2015, told The Indian Express: “When I was pursuing my second
year in law I joined ABVP but have never been associated with the BJP. I
have since been donating and helping them (ABVP) organise events.”
Read | Mystery red shirt found with unexploded IED at site never reached NIA
The NIA declined comment on the empanelment of Harinath — associated with only the Mecca Masjid bombing case — as a prosecutor.
Harinath
also said he did not face any pressure from anyone to dilute the case.
“From day one, we were working to secure the conviction in the case.
When I joined in 2015, the trial was about to start and I was engaged by
NIA after scrutiny of my application. I have provided them with the
list of cases I have dealt in the past. I have been practising in
criminal court since 1994 and have been a special public prosecutor for
the Enforcement Directorate since 2011.”
Read | Five including Aseemanand acquitted, judge who delivered verdict resigns
According
to Harinath, the NIA court while acquitting the accused observed that
the confession of Aseemanand recorded before a magistrate in Delhi was
not fair. “The entire prosecution case was based on the confession of
Aseemanand, which was recorded before a magistrate in Delhi. In his
deposition to court, the magistrate said Aseemanand was in police (CBI)
custody when he was brought before him and after recording his statement
he was taken into the police custody. The court concluded that it is
not a fair confession.”
Under section 164 CrPC, the confession cannot be recorded before a police officer.
Aseemanand acquitted in Mecca Masjid blast case Aseemanand, one of the five acquitted Monday. (File Photo)
“The
court observed that the case pertained to Hyderabad and the CBI could
have got Aseemanand’s statement recorded before the magistrate here when
he was in jail. The magistrate who recorded Aseemanand’s statement was a
prosecution witness in the case,” he said.
Read | Among acquitted in Mecca Masjid blast: RSS leader convicted in Ajmer blast last year
Another
reason they failed to secure the conviction, Harinath said, was
witnesses turning hostile. “Had these witnesses supported the
prosecution case, we would have secured a conviction,” he said.
