CBI did not provide evidence for claim of Aseemanand's

The special NIA court that acquitted five accused in the 11-year old Mecca Masjid blast case rejected the confessional statement of Hindutva preacher Swami Aseemanand, holding that it was recorded when he was in police custody and that it was not "voluntary".

The court also dismissed the prosecution's claim that Aseemanand had confessed to his guilt to two inmates of a prison here, saying the CBI, which initially probed the case had not provided any documentary evidence to prove this.

A powerful blast, triggered by remote control, had ripped through the over four centuries-old mosque here during an assembly of devotees on May 18, 2007 when they had gathered for Friday prayers, killing nine people and wounding 58.

Special Judge K Ravinder Reddy in his April 16 order said the confessional statement of Aseemanand was "hit by Section 26 of the Indian Evidence Act and the same is not a voluntary one which was recorded during the course of police custody."