Youth who heard Swami’s ‘confession’ says he wants to write memoir

SHAIK ABDUL Kaleem, 27, whom Swami Aseemanand allegedly confessed his role in planning the Mecca Masjid blast while they were lodged at Chanchalguda Jail in Hyderabad, plans to write a memoir but is wondering if anyone would publish it.

“I want people to know what happens in these cases. Aseemanand clearly told me he was involved in the blasts but he retracted his statement later and that is it. I risked my life when I went to Ajmer and Panchakula to record my statement in courts hoping for justice. I do not know who to believe now,’’ Kaleem said.

Kaleem, who completed his LLB in 2013, was declined a job in law firms. He works in the office of Malakpet AIMIM MLA Ahmed Bhalala. “When I heard Aseemanand was acquitted in the Ajmer blast case, I could not believe it. I could not believe when he was granted bail in the Mecca Masjid blast case also. I put my life at risk and went to Ajmer and Panchkula to give evidence based on what Aseemanand confessed to me... at Chanchalguda Jail,” he said.

“He... told me how he and his group planned and executed the blasts, and apologised to me because I had to spend time in jail while he was the accused. He repented that,’’ Kaleem said.

Kaleem was rounded up by the police in July 2007 after the Mecca Masjid blast on suspicion of being involved in terror activities. He spent a year in jail and was acquitted on July 23, 2008.

Subsequently, Kaleem did another stint in jail regarding a different case and has been charged with alleged assault in a third case.