Justice denied, say families of victims, ask who carried out the 2008 blast
say they believe justice was denied and the extensive effort of slain Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare in investigating the case and apprehending the accused, were futile.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Shaikh Liyakat of Hirapura area in Malegaon, whose 10-year-old daughter Farheen lost her life in the blast, said, "If the court has not found anyone guilty, then who caused the blast and who was responsible for the deaths of six people? Farheen just stepped out from our rented house near Bhikku Chowk to buy a wada pav when the blast took place."
At 68, Shaikh Liyakat, a former truck driver, added, "I have been carrying Farheen's photo for the past 17 years, hoping that those responsible for her death will one day be punished.
We feel disappointed today and feel we did not get justice. We have full faith in our judiciary and hope that those who took the lives of our loved ones are punished one day," Liyakat told TOI.
To commemorate Farheen's death anniversary, Shaikh Liyakat continues to feed young children every year on the 28th day of the month of Ramadan. Farheen was the youngest of his six children.
Mushtaq Shah, 58, whose house is in a very congested locality behind the Malegaon Municipal School No.
1, operates a wada pav stall in the textile town. He lost his father, Harun Shah (75), in the blast.
Remembering the night, Mushtaq said, "My father would have lived much longer. He was still working in a power loom at that time. On that fateful day, as usual, he stopped by Bhikku Chowk to have a cup of tea and eat paan when the blast occurred. We are disappointed with the verdict. The govt should approach the high court. Those involved in taking innocent lives should not be spared and allowed to go scot-free."
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Shaikh Ibrahim Shaikh Supra, 84, a resident of Dhule Road Gulashan Hajjin Masjid, whose son-in-law Rafiq Shaikh died in the blast, expressed his disappointment over the verdict. His daughter, Noorjahan, could not come to terms with her husband's death and died two years ago. Her son, Rihan, was 19 at the time of the blast. "She was my only child. Hence, Rafiq, who drove a private bus, used to stay with us. It was his habit to have tea at Bhikku Chowk before leaving for work.
That is where he was when the blast took place," Supra said.
"The victims are determined to seek justice and will pursue legal remedies by filing an independent appeal in Bombay High Court after reviewing the judgments" said Shahid Nadeem, victims' advocate.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
35 stone crushers sealed near Ganga in Haridwar after high court order
Haridwar: A stone crushers sealing committee set up by the Haridwar district magistrate following a high court directive, sealed 35 units along the Ganga river in Haridwar and disconnected their electricity supply during sealing operations targeting 48 stone crushers on Friday. The matter came to light when Haridwar-based Matri Sadan, an ashram involved in environmental protection, approached the Nainital high court in 2017 regarding stone crushers operating within five kilometres of the Ganga river, from Raiwala to Bhogpur, raising concerns of rampant quarrying threatening the sustainability of the river. Although the Uttarakhand govt permitted the crushers to operate based on the law department's legal counsel, Matri Sadan contested this decision as "unlawful and unconstitutional" and filed another petition in the high court, which ultimately mandated the sealing of all 48 stone crushing units. They also alleged that the mining lobby could attack its seers and the govt should provide Matri Sadan security, which had been lifted earlier. District mining officer Kazim Raza told TOI, "We sealed 35 stone crushers on Friday and disconnected their electricity connections. We had closed their online portal earlier so they're unable to issue challans. The rest of the stone crushers will be sealed on Saturday." Brahmchari Sudhanand, a seer of Matri Sadan involved in the litigation, said, "All stone crushers lying within five kilometres of the Ganga and other rivers in the district should be closed, as they are the root cause of illegal mining in the rivers. We will put this demand before the court at the next hearing."
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Afghan held in Jabalpur for illegally obtaining Indian passport, running racket
Bhopal, Aug 1 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a person hailing from Afghanistan for allegedly obtaining an Indian passport using forged documents, a police official said on Friday. Sohbat Khan was held on a tip off that some Afghanistan nationals were living illegally in Jalablpur, a statement from the MP police headquarters said. 'Sohbat was living illegally in Jabalpur for the last 10 years and he had also married a local woman. He not only got his Indian passport made on the basis of fake documents but was also getting Indian passports made for his Afghan friends living in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh by preparing documents on wrong addresses in Jabalpur and taking money for them," the official said. The statement said ATS has so far received information about 20 such Afghan youths, whose passports were attempted to be made from Jabalpur addresses. 'Sohbat Khan got a driving licence from Jabalpur in 2015 and obtained an Indian passport in 2020. The ATS has so far received information about transactions worth about Rs 10 lakh for making Indian passports," the statement added. 'Out of these, passports of Akbar and Iqbal, residents of West Bengal, have already been made from fake addresses in Jabalpur. Sohbat Khan has been taken into custody and he is being questioned in detail about other people involved in this illegal work. Those who made fake documents, helped in police verification and in getting passports with fake addresses from the post office are also being identified," he said. Apart from Sohbat Khan, two other arrested accused have been identified as Dinesh Garg, a resident of Vijaynagar in Jabalpur, and Mahendra Kumar Sukhdan of Katanga, the official said. Garg is a forest guard in the forest department and has been working in the election cell of the collector's office for the last two years, he added. PTI MAS BNM (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 01, 2025, 23:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Woman pimp held, one victim rescued in Thane sex racket bust
Thane: The Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) of Thane Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested a 24-year-old woman allegedly involved in supplying girls for prostitution and rescued a young woman from the flesh trade. The operation was carried out following a tip-off received by Senior Police Inspector Vaishali Gorde, who leads the AHTC unit. Acting on the intelligence, the team laid a trap near Shahad railway station, located under the jurisdiction of Khadakpada police station in Kalyan city, said a police officer. According to officials, the woman, a native of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, was sending photographs of young girls to clients via mobile applications and arranging meetings for services. "Based on the input, a decoy customer and panch witness were deployed to the spot, and the team successfully intercepted the woman during the act," said a police officer. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai During the raid, a 22-year-old woman was rescued, who is believed to have been forced into prostitution. The accused was allegedly operating the racket for several months, targeting vulnerable women and supplying them to clients in and around Thane and Kalyan. The arrested woman has been booked under relevant sections of the BNS act and the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA). The rescued woman has been placed in a govt-run shelter home, and further rehabilitation efforts are underway. Police are now investigating if the woman was part of a larger trafficking network and are working to identify additional victims and clients linked to the racket, said a police officer.
