NEARLY 17 years after the Malegaon blast claimed six lives, a special court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, noting there was “no reliable and cogent evidence” against them. No religion teaches violence, the court said. Terrorism has no religion, but the court cannot convict on mere perception, it added. Special Judge A K Lahoti, assigned to hear cases of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) here, flagged several loopholes in the prosecution’s case and the investigation carried out, and said the accused persons deserved the benefit of doubt.

 

An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in the town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008 killing six persons and injuring 101 others. Besides Thakur and Purohit, the accused comprised Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni. Once the court acquitted the seven accused, they looked relieved with smiles on their faces. They thanked the judge and their lawyers. The court while reading out the judgment said there was no “reliable and cogent” evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. “Mere suspicion cannot take the place of real proof,” the court said, adding that in the absence of any evidence, the accused persons deserve the benefit of doubt. “The overall evidence does not inspire confidence in the court to convict the accused. There is no reliable and cogent evidence to warrant conviction,” the judge said while reading out the judgment.

 

The court also said provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) were not applicable to the case. The court said it was not established that the motorbike used in the blast was registered in the name of Thakur, as claimed by the prosecution. It has also not been established that the blast was carried out by the bomb allegedly planted on the bike, the court said. Before the verdict was announced, the seven accused, all out on bail, arrived at the sessions court in south Mumbai which was barricaded with heavy security. All the accused were charged for committing a terrorist act under provisions of the UAPA and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act. The prosecution’s claim was that the blast was orchestrated by right wing extremists with an intention to terrorise the local Muslim community.

 

The NIA, which conducted the probe into the case, had sought “commensurate punishment” for the accused. The trial, which started in 2018, got over on April 19 this year. The probe was initially carried out by the State Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which had pinned the blame on right wing extremists who were members of ‘Abhinav Bharat’ group. The probe was later handed over to the NIA, which initially given a clean chit to Thakur, but the court had said there was prima facie evidence for her to face trial 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 Muslim community, disrupt essential services, create communal tensions and threaten the state’s internal security. The blast took place during the holy month of Ramzan, just before the Navratri festival, the NIA pointed out, claiming the intention of the accused was to strike terror in a section of the Muslim community. The charges comprised UAPA sections 16 (committing terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist act) and various IPC sections, including 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 153 (a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups). During the trial, the prosecution presented 323 witnesses, of whom 37 turned hostile.

 

 

NEARLY 17 years after a blast in Malegaon town of north Maharashtra claimed six lives, a special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, noting there was “no reliable and cogent evidence” against them. Terrorism has no religion, the court said, adding it cannot convict on mere perception. Thakur and Purohit hailed the court’s order. Thakur said the acquittal was not just a win for her, but for “bhagwa” (saffron), as their acquittal rekindled the ‘saffron terror’ narrative buzz. “Bhagwa ki vijay hui hai,” Thakur said. AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel demanded that the State Government challenge the acquittal.

 

There is no word yet from any Government functionary on this issue. Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde said the court verdict was a slap on the face of the Congress, and demanded an apology from the party for its “saffron terror” narrative. Terrorism should not be associated with any religion and no faith advocates violence, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh said. Thakur said her life was ruined for the past 17 years, and that God will punish those who tried to insult “bhagwa”. The court directed the Government to pay a compensation of Rs two lakh each to families of the six dead persons and Rs 50,000 to each of the 101 persons injured in the blast. “We were shocked after the verdict came. People who died did not get justice,” said Firoz Ahmed Azmi, who said he fought for justice in the Malegaon blast case. 

 

 

MAHARASHTRA Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday hailed the acquittal of all the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, saying “terrorism was never saffron and will never be”, while Deputy CM Eknath Shinde said the verdict has wiped off the stigma on the Hindu community. Shinde claimed that Hindus can never engage in anti-national activities, and hit out at the Congress for coining the “absurd term of Hindu terrorism”. Opposition Congress hit out at Fadnavis, saying the CM had “no regrets” over the loss of innocent lives in the blast, and that his reaction over the court verdict showed his “political mindset”. It also sought to know if the Government would challenge the court’s decision in the higher court as it did after the 7/11 blasts case accused were acquitted. Nearly 17 years after the Malegaon blast claimed six lives, a special court here on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, noting there was “no reliable and cogent evidence” against them. Reacting to the verdict, CM Fadnavis said on X, “Terrorism was never saffron, is not and will never be.”

 

In a post on X, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, “Truth is never defeated. After a long battle of seventeen years, a special court has acquitted seven alleged accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case. It is true that justice was delayed, but it has once again been proven that truth is never defeated.” He said Shiv Sena has unequivocally supported the patriots who were falsely accused and imprisoned in the Malegaon blast case. “This is because Shiv Sena never had any doubt that their cause was just. Colonel Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya, and the other seven individuals had to endure immense mental and physical torment due to these accusations. The Hindu community will never forget this injustice,” Shinde said. Hindus can never engage in anti-national activities, because patriotism is a sacred duty for those who follow Hinduism.

 

The absurd term ‘Hindu terrorism’ was coined by conspiratorial Congress leaders. What answer do they have now for such blatant falsehoods? he asked. State Revenue Minister Chandrashekar Bawankule said the verdict of the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in the Malegaon bomb blast case was not merely a judicial decision but an exposure of a long-running political conspiracy to defame. The court clearly noted that there was no concrete evidence behind any of the allegations. But a more serious matter is that the Congress deliberately used the term “Hindu terrorism” in its propaganda, attempting to defame the Hindu community and its faith worldwide, he said. State congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said terrorism has no religious colour. Congress has always condemned terror and demanded strict action against the accused.

 

The Malegaon blast case was investigated by (then ATS chief) late Hemant Karkare, who sacrificed his life for protecting the country, he told reporters. “If he and late State Home Minister R R Patil were alive today, what would have been the court verdict. This is what people are thinking,” he said. Reacting sharply to the Chief Minister’s comment, State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, “Innocent people died in Malegaon blast, and the Government could not deliver justice to them, yet the Maharashtra Chief Minister has no regrets. His tweet (post on X) reveals his political mindset.” This is precisely why questions have been raised about the attitude of the investigative agencies, he said.

 

“These people view terrorism through a political lens as well. Individuals associated with the BJP and RSS had even labelled a brave officer like martyr Hemant Karkare a traitor, he alleged. Was it this same political mindset that led to Rohini Salian being asked to take a soft stance against the accused and to slow down the investigation? Witnesses were offered inducements. A witness like Randhir Singh was given a ministerial position in Jharkhand, Sawant said on X. When asked, senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde refused to comment on the verdict.