Time stands still at Bhikku Chowk as Malegaon remembers 2008 blast

Time of India

31-07-2025

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Malegaon: Time stands still at Bhikku Chowk in Malegaon, as evident from the wall clock at Nissar Dairy that stopped ticking at 9.45pm when a bomb blast rocked the textile town of north Maharashtra on Sept 29, 2008.
The clock still hangs in the dairy, owned by Ijaj Ahmad, serving as a grim reminder of the blast that claimed the lives of six people and left nearly 100 others injured.
Bhikku Chowk, a crowded destination for those seeking tea, snacks, and paan, remains marked by the remnants of the explosion. Some shops still bear splinter marks from the blast, and local residents have not forgotten the night of the attack 17 years ago.
Shopkeepers in the bustling chowk said the intensity of the blast was such that the metal shutters of the shops were cut through.
Mohammad Sayyed, a cycle repair shop owner, recalled the motorcycle, in which the prosecution claimed the bomb was planted, was parked just outside his shop. He was at a nearby masjid offering namaz during Ramzan and was spared from the blast. "The blast occurred just a few minutes before people left the masjid.
If it exploded 10 minutes later, the disaster would have been huge," he added.
Shaikh Hamid Shaikh Chand, a 63-year-old paan stall owner, said a large number of people frequent the chowk from early morning until late at night. "Somehow, I was saved from the blast. But the sound of the blast rang in my ears for nearly a week. A boy named Jamil, who used to work with me, suffered serious injuries," he recalled.
The chowk has remained largely unchanged in the past 17 years, but the road from Bhikku Chowk to Anjuman Chowk has been named Shaheed Hemant Karkare Road.
Late IPS officer Hemant Karkare was heading the state anti-terrorism squad in 2008 when the blast occurred and closely oversaw the investigation.
On Thursday, many Malegaon residents gathered at Bhikku Chowk, hoping for a conviction in the case. They believed that Karkare conducted a thorough investigation. "His efforts have been in vain. Despite all the evidence against the accused, they have been released. This is no justice," said Sikandar Ali, a powerloom worker.
A police chowkey, located just a few metres from the site of the blast, remains in place. Local residents said the police vigil has generally increased. Several Malegaon residents, particularly from the Muslim community, felt distraught by the court verdict.
Maulana Abdul Qayyum, district pof Jamiat-e-Ulma, said, "If govt felt that the accused are innocent, then why did it not trace the people who were involved in the blast? We have full trust in the judiciary, and we will go to the higher court for justice.
We are confident that the deceased and injured people and their families will surely get justice."
The communally sensitive town is divided along the Mausam river saw some celebrations in some parts. Members of a Hindu organisation gathered at the Mahatma Gandhi statue to celebrate the court, and they shouted slogans in the name of former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, who was among the accused.