AP govt recommends CBI probe into Hyderabad blast

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to request the Centre to order a CBI inquiry into the Mecca Masjid bomb blast and announced a judicial probe into the police firing after the explosion.

At a high-level meeting here, Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy said the decision to request the Centre was taken to "reassure the Muslim brethren that the state government wanted to bring out the real cause for the blast."

According to an official release issued here, Reddy said his government is "transparent" on such issues and he is writing to the Centre in this regard.

The Chief Minister on his visit to the Mecca Masjid soon after the blast had announced that he was ready for a CBI inquiry but was waiting for the findings of the preliminary enquiries by the state government.

Though the state government could get some clues during the blast probe, the Chief Minister said he decided for a CBI inquiry to bring out all facts and find out the real culprits behind the incident.

Reddy said no force on earth will be allowed to disturb the communal harmony and peace prevailing in the state, the release said.

The Chief Minister said that it is not a communal incident and is the handiwork of terrorists.

He said it is high time that Hindus, Muslims and all other communities should join hands to defeat the outside forces, the release added.

A powerful bomb ripped through the mosque last Friday killing 11 and wounding over 50. Five more died when police fired at protesters who attacked shops and petrol pumps in sensitive Charminar area.