All the accused were today produced before Judge Y D Shinde, who adjourned the hearing in the case till November 19. In the wake of Swami Aseemanand`s confession that pointed to a right-wing group`s involvement in the case, the accused had earlier sought bail. Aseemanand had been arrested for his alleged role in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blasts.
"From the confession, it is clear that those responsible for the 2006 Malegaon blasts, are persons far removed from the current accused," they said in the bail plea. The accused further pleaded that they have been in jail for the past four years and "there is no direct evidence of their involvement in the said offence and it was only based on the forcibly-taken confession statement".
Aseemanand, in his confession, that was recorded before the magistrate few months ago, had alleged that a right-wing group was responsible for the 2006 blasts in Malegaon, which killed 37 people and injured over 100. The blasts had occurred near Hamidia mosque in the Bada Kabristan area around 1.15 pm on September 8, 2006, after Shab-e-Barat prayers.
Police had arrested nine persons -- Salman Farsi, Shabir Ahmed, Noorulhuda Doha, Rais Ahmed, Mohammed Ali, Asif Khan, Javed Sheikh, Faroogue Ansari and Abrar Ahmed - for their alleged involvement in the blasts.