Akshardham temple attack 2002: 'Prime accused' Yasin Bhat granted bail by Ahmedabad court

A  special POTA court in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Wednesday granted bail to Yasin Bhat, the alleged prime conspirator of the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack. 

According to an Indian Express report, Bhat’s lawyer told the court that the accused was arrested at a belated stage and much later to the Supreme Court’s judgment acquitting six accused persons in May 2014.  The special court had also acquitted two more accused to the acquittal by the Supreme Court.

There has been no discovery or recovery of any incriminating material, thereby not necessitating a pre- trial detention of Bhat, his lawyer told to the court.

Bhat made a case to be granted relief on the grounds of parity.

He was arrested by the Gujarat ATS on July 26 from Jammu and Kashmir.

Notably, 33 persons, including a National Security Guard (NSG) commando, had died when two terrorists opened fire inside the Akshardham temple complex on September 24, 2002.  The two terrorists were gunned down by NSG commandos.

As per the ATS, Bhat played a key role in hatching the conspiracy to attack the temple, and also supplied arms and ammunition, including AK-47 assault rifles, to other accused who had come to Ahmedabad by train from Uttar Pradesh.