'Victims were targeted for their religion': 2008 Malegaon bomb blast verdict 'disappoints' Asaduddin Owaisi; MP asks who killed '6 people'

Time of India

6 days ago

NEW DELHI: 'Six namazis were killed in the blast and nearly 100 were injured. They were targeted for their religion. A deliberately shoddy investigation/prosecution is responsible for the acquittal,' said AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday after a special NIA court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused in the 2008
Malegaon bomb blast
case, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit.
The court cited lack of evidence to support the charges.
All accused were out on bail during the trial.
You Can Also Check:
Mumbai AQI
|
Weather in Mumbai
|
Bank Holidays in Mumbai
|
Public Holidays in Mumbai
The blast, which ripped through Bhikku Chowk area of Malegaon in Maharashtra's Nashik district on September 29, 2008, killed six people and left over 100 injured, most of them Muslims offering namaz nearby.
Apart from Pragya Thakur and Purohit, the other accused acquitted are Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sameer Kulkarni, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi.
The court also directed that compensation of Rs 2 lakh each be paid to the families of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
While the court's full reasoning is awaited, it observed that there was no evidence to prove that the motorcycle allegedly used in the blast was owned by Pragya Thakur at the time.
Owaisi slams verdict, questions probe
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi termed the verdict 'disappointing' and issued a scathing response on social media platform X.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
They Are Unstoppable: The Most Beautiful and Talented Female Athletes
womensportsonline.com
Undo
'The Malegaon blast case verdict is disappointing. Six namazis were killed in the blast and nearly 100 were injured. They were targeted for their religion. A deliberately shoddy investigation/prosecution is responsible for the acquittal.'
He questioned whether the governments would challenge the verdict the way they did in other cases.
'17 years after the blast, the Court has acquitted all of the accused for lack of evidence. Will the Modi & Fadnavis governments appeal the judgement the way they swiftly demanded stay in the Mumbai train blasts acquittals? Will Maharashtra's 'secular' political parties demand accountability? Who killed the 6 people?'
Owaisi also reminded that key developments in the case had earlier raised concerns about political interference.
'Remember, in 2016 the then prosecutor in the case Rohini Salian went on record to say that NIA had asked her to 'go soft' on the accused. Remember, in 2017, NIA had tried to get Sadhvi Pragya acquitted. The same person would go on to be a BJP MP in 2019.'
Referring to slain police officer Hemant Karkare, Owaisi said, 'Karkare had uncovered the conspiracy in Malegaon & was unfortunately killed by Pakistani terrorists in the 26/11 attacks.
The BJP MP went on record saying that she had cursed him and his death was a consequence of his curse.'
He concluded with a direct attack on the NIA and the current government, 'Will NIA/ATS officers be held accountable for their faulty investigation? I think we know the answer. This is the 'tough on terror' Modi government. The world will remember that it made a terror accused a Member of Parliament.'