The Justice Bhaskar Rao Commission, probing the police firing on protestors outside the Mecca Masjid after a bomb blast on 18 May 2007, on Saturday submitted its report to Chief Minister K Rosaiah at the Camp Office.
The bomb blast, immediately after the Friday prayers, had claimed the lives of 5 worshippers. The police had opened fire on protestors outside the historic mosque, and 9 persons were killed.
The commission was appointed to ascertain the sequence of events responsible for opening of fire following the violence after the Mecca Masjid blast.
The Commission enquired about the alleged illegal detentions of Muslim youth.
The commission took nearly 3 years to submit its much-awaited report to the government.
The Special Branch of Hyderabad City Police and State Intelligence, in their preliminary reports to the government, admitted that the police firing on the protestors was 'indiscriminate and unwarranted'. The preliminary reports admitted that the police had shot at not only protestors but also panic-stricken worshippers running away from the blast site.
The post-mortem reports, too, indicated that the police firing was indiscriminate, resulting in the death of 9 persons. The bullets were fired from "self-loading rifles" normally used in encounters with Maoists or terrorists.
The report filed by the City Security Wing revealed that as many as 90 rounds were fired by the policemen.
6 constables of the Quick Response Team of the City Police had fired 72 rounds, 3 constables of the City Armed Reserve had fired 11 rounds, and 3 constables of the West and North Zone Task Force had fired 7 rounds at Punch Mohalla and Charminar bus stop near Mecca Masjid. The policemen used 6 SLRs, four .303 rifles and two pistols.