Malegaon Blast Case: Shiv Sena MP Mhaske Welcomes Acquittal, Owaisi Expresses Disappointment
Malegaon Blast Case: A NIA special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. The incident killed six people and left more than 100 injured in Maharashtra's communally sensitive Malegaon town.
Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske welcomes the verdict in the Malegaon blast case, saying that today, it has been proven that the action the Congress government took was false.
'The truth has won. The case had been going on for the last 17 years. Many army officers claimed that they had made certain statements under pressure from the ATS. But today, everything is out in the open. The Congress government took action to spread the misunderstanding among the people in the name of Hindu terror. Today, it has been proven that the action they took was false," news agency ANI quoted Mhaske as saying.
Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Sushil Kumar Shinde refused to comment on the NIA verdict, acquitting all seven accused.
Sandhvi Pragya Singh said that she had maintained her innocence from the beginning and was subjected to 'torture during her investigation". She said that 'Bhagwa has won, and Hindutva has won, and God will punish those who are guilty".
'I said this from the very beginning that those who are called for investigation there should be a basis behind that. I was called by them for investigation and was arrested and tortured. This ruined my whole life. I was living a sage's life, but I was made and accused, and no one was willingly standing beside us. I am alive because I am a Sanyasi. They defamed Bhagwa through a conspiracy. However, those who defamed India and Bhagwa have not been proved wrong by you," she told ANI.
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi said that the verdict is 'disappointing", adding that a shoddy investigation/prosecution is responsible for the acquittal.
'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," he wrote on X.
Congress leader Kamal Nath said that if it's the court's order, then it should be acceptable to all.
'If it's the court's order, then what can we comment on this. It should be acceptable to all. Why are we discussing this?" he said after the Special NIA court acquitted all 7 accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
Seven people, including BJP leader and former MP Pragya Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, faced trial in the case for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code.
Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni were the other accused in the case.
In its final argument, the NIA submitted that the blast in Malegaon — a town with a sizable Muslim population — was orchestrated by the conspirators to terrorise a section of the Muslim community, disrupt essential services, create communal tensions, and threaten the state's internal security.
The NIA has said that based on 'relevant, admissible, cogent, trustworthy, wholly reliable and proved evidence", it 'conclusively and cogently" established the crucial circumstances to form a complete chain of events.
The NIA has said that based on 'relevant, admissible, cogent, trustworthy, wholly reliable and proved evidence", it 'conclusively and cogently" established the crucial circumstances to form a complete chain of events.
The case was initially probed by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the NIA in 2011.
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