Owaisi Calls Malegaon Blast Case Verdict 'Disappointing', Lists Five Points To Question Acquittal Of Accused, NDA Leaders Say 'Truth Won'

Malegaon Blast Case Verdict: Amid a war of words between ruling party leaders and the opposition over the verdict on the Malegaon blast case, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said the verdict was "disappointing".

In a long post on his X handle, he listed five points to question the acquittal of the accused in the case.

"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," his first point read.

In the second point, he stated, "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?"

The third, fourth, and fifth points in his post were direct attacks against the BJP.

"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," the third point stated.

"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," Owaisi said in his fourth point.

In the fifth and the last point, the AIMIM MP stated, "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."

How Did NDA Leaders React To The Verdict?

NDA leaders have reacted to the verdict claiming that the truth has prevailed.

Regarding the verdict, Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske said, "The truth has won. The case had been going on for the last 17 years. Many army officers claimed that they 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."

BJP MP Ravi Kishan said, "We don't know whether to be happy or sad. My sister Sadhvi Pragya used to sit next to me in the Parliament. Her entire body is paralysed. What must the accused and their families have gone through who faced the false allegations... Who will return those 17 years? The Congress that coined the term Bhagwa Terrorism must answer. They are all accountable... They have to answer 100 crore Hindus with what proof they started speaking of Bhagwa terrorism... Who was the mastermind behind this narrative?... The Home Minister said it yesterday, and it is proven today that a Hindu cannot be a terrorist... We will demand an answer in the Parliament on the term 'Bhagwa Terrorism'."

"I congratulate Colonel Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya, and all the other accused. My greetings to the court for serving justice to all the accused and the entire Hindu community... The army got justice because they accused a serving Colonel Purohit of being a terrorist... They fabricated a theory of Bhagwa terror... The Congress and its leadership, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia, Priyanka and Rahul, have to apologise to the nation... The Congress betrayed the country," said BJP MP Brij Lal.

Reacting to the verdict, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said, "What did the Union Home Minister say in the Rajya Sabha yesterday? A Hindu cannot be a terrorist. All the terrorists in this country have only one religion. It has been proven. Congress did the dirty work of spreading the term 'Saffron Terrorism'... Everything is clear now, and the Congress will have to face the consequences... Instead of catching Pakistani terrorists, why were the people of India accused?..."

How Did Sadhvi Pragya And Other Accused React To The Verdict?

Former MP Sadhvi Pragya who was on Wednesday acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, expressed relief over the Mumbai NIA special court's verdict stating that "Bhagwa and Hindutva has won" and the real culprits in the blasts that killed six people and injured 95 others will be punished.

"Bhagwa was defamed by them through a conspiracy, today Bhagwa has won and Hindutva Has won and those who are guilty will be punished by God. But those who defamed India and Bhagwa both are not proved wrong by you. I thank you sir (to Judge Abhay Lohati)," Pragya said as she openly wept after the verdict.

Detailing how she was "tortured" during the investigation, the former MP reiterated what she earlier about pressure on the investigation to frame the accused.

"I said this from very beginning that those who are called for investigation there should be 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, I am living my life with dying every day," she said.

While in the court, the former MP was allowed to sit in the witness box instead of the accused box due to her health condition.
Another acquitted, Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay expressed relief over the verdict and also alleged "physical, mental and financial" torture.

"We sufffered all kinds of torture including physical, mental and financial tortures. We willingly gave Narco tests but that was not relied upon as it didn't suit the prosecution's case. I am happy that the court gave us relief. My husband, wife and son were called some wife and daughter of terrorist but I am thankful that that stigma will go from our lives," he said.

Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, also thanked the court for restoring his faith in the justice system.

"I thank you for restoring the faith of the common man in the system again. In life of a nation individual lives don't matter ,it's the nation which matters ultimately," he said.

"I thank you for giving me a chance to serve my nation and my organisation with the same conviction which I was doing before me being framed in this matter . I don't blame any organisation for all this . Organisations like investigating agencies are not wrong but people inside the organisations are the ones who have done wrong," he added.

About the Malegaon Blast Case Verdict

Mumbai's NIA special court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused of being involved in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, with the court saying that the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The NIA court has also ordered the Maharashtra government to award Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of the victims and Rs 50,000 compensation to the injured.

A total of 7 people were accused, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni.

'All bail bonds of the accused are cancelled and sureties are discharged," the NIA special court said.

The court had examined 323 prosecution witnesses and 8 defence witnesses before pronouncing the verdict. The 7 people have been acquitted of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms act and all other charges.

"Prosecution proved that a blast occurred in Malegaon but failed to prove that bomb was placed in that motorcycle," the Judge Abhay Lohati said.

The court also mentioned that there were some manipulation done of medical certificates. "Court has come to a conclusion that injured people were not 101 but 95 only and there was manipulation. In some medical certificates," the court said.

The court also said that there is no evidence of storing or assembling the explosives in Prasad Purohit's residence, who was another accused in the case.

"No sketch of spot was done by the investigation officer while doing panchnama. No finger print , dump data or anything else was collected for the spot. The samples were contaminated so reports can't be conclusive and relied upon," the court said.

On the alleged role on Abhinav Bharat organisation, the court said that there was no evidence of the funds of the organisation being used for terror activities.

On September 29 2008, six people were killed and 95 others injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque in Malegaon City's Bhikku Chowk. Originally, 11 people were accused in the case; however, the court ultimately framed charges against 7, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya.

Also Read: No Hindu Can Ever Be A Terrorist: Amit Shah In Rajya Sabha During Operation Sindoor Debate