"Who's Responsible Then?" A Owaisi's Poser After Malegaon Accused Acquitted

NDTV

2 days ago

New Delhi:
Justice has not been done in the Malegaon blast case and the Central and the state governments should appeal immediately - preferably within 24 hours as they did in the railway blasts case, AIMIM ( All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul. Muslimeen) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said today - hours after a special court gave a clean chit to the seven accused saying there was no material evidence against them.
The blast occurred on the night of September 29 2008, near Bhikku Chowk in the communally tense town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, during the holy month of Ramzan. A powerful bomb tore through an area near a mosque, killing six people and injuring more than a hundred.
Today, all seven accused in the case, including former BJP MP Pragya Thakur and former army officer Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit, were acquitted.
Mr Owaisi pointed out that the release made the case inconclusive and it becomes unclear who was responsible for the blasts.
"What are we going to tell the families who lost their loved ones? A young girl died in Malegaon in 2008. What do we tell her family? Who were these people who used RDX? RDX is a plastic explosive. So if we do not catch these people and send them to jail, they will roam scot-free,' he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
"It was not justice. I hope the Narendra Modi government and the Maharashtra government will go to the Supreme Court within 24 hours, the way they did in the railway blasts case. I appeal to them... There has been no justice or closure. it is important for the families," he said.
Recalling the events after the 2006 blast some Muslim men were picked up and beaten and were later discharged.
The handling of the cases in the courtroom left much to be desired, he said. "The prosecutor in the case had never prosecuted anyone. Never worked in a criminal prosecution," he said, marking him as "completely incompetent".
"I also want to ask the NIA -- if the witnesses were becoming hostile how were you conducting the trial then? Is there any additional responsibility on them?" he said.
"The NIA also accused an ex-MP, who was a terror accused when he became an MP -- you said that there can be no prosecution against him. So, the evidence that was found, the confession that was found as evidence, that is gone. So, all these things, there are so many shortcomings in this," Mr Owaisi said.
Asked if he was differentiating between the investigations by ATS and the NIA, he said the ATS investigation was done by Hemant Karkare, who died in Delhi's Batla house encounter and was given a posthumous Ashok Chakra.
"Hemant Karkare Sir had taken out CDs in which there was audio, video evidence, in which how the conspiracy was done. He had taken out so much documentary evidence for all those things... If Hemant Karkare was alive, then this case would have had a different outcome," he said.
Donald Trump's Tariff
Mr Owaisi started fuming when asked about the fresh 25 per cent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump.
"India is not a vassal state. We are standing in the court of a wannabe emperor. We have broken the slavery of 200 years of the British. Our ancestors broke the chains with their sacrifices. Not for this day," Mr Owaisi said.
Recalling President Trump's comment that "India is a dead economy", he said, "How can we be dead economy? It is a country of 133 crores. You do not want India's market. Thank you very much. We do not need you... We will put a penalty. We are a sovereign state. Who are you to dictate to us?
"They are saying that we will buy oil from Pakistan. Why will we buy oil from Pakistan? The country on our land. Our people's blood has come out. We will buy oil from them. The one who is setting fire. We will buy oil from them. These western countries. There is a chip in their brains. That we are a third world country. We are not a third world country. As much as they are proud of their country. We are also proud of our country," he added.
President Trump had announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports and an unspecified "penalty" because of the country's energy purchases from Russia.
Earlier today, in a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump wrote, "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let's keep it that way."
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told parliament that the Centre is studying the implications of the move and will take all necessary steps to safeguard India's national interest.