New Delhi, April 16: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday welcomed a National Investigation Agency (NIA) court verdict acquitting all five accused in Mecca Masjid bomb blast case, calling it a "slap in the face" of the previous UPA government.

VHP's working International President Alok Kumar said the Congress government had hatched a conspiracy to save real culprits and implicate innocent Hindus in the name of Hindu terrorism.

Pakistan was happiest to see the real culprits going scot-free, he added.

"The development has exposed the then UPA government's plot to make Hindus 'second-class citizens' and make them 'political pawns for security agencies'," he added.

Nine persons were killed in a powerful explosion that ripped through the mosque on May 18, 2007.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 16, 2018 06:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).