Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 31 : 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.
Seven people were accused, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni.'
Just after the court verdict, advocate Shahid Nadeem, representing the victim families, said that he will challenge the acquittal of the seven accused in the High Court soon. "We will file an appeal independently," the advocate told ANI.
Former MP Sadhvi Pragya was acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case and expressed happiness, saying that "Bhagwa and Hindutva have won" and the real culprits in the blasts that killed six people and injured 95 others will be punished.
Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, one of the accused acquitted, hailed the verdict, saying that he is extremely grateful to the country and those who stood by him.
Celebrations broke out outside Lt Colonel Purohit's residence, where supporters burst firecrackers and distributed sweets to mark the court's decision.
Another acquitted accused, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, told ANI, "This is a verdict, not justice. It has been proven that I was trapped. Saffron won today as it was called a terrorist..."
Soon after the verdict, Bharatiya Janata Party top leaders accused the Congress-led UPA government of fabricating a narrative of "Hindu terror" and "Saffron Terror".
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis demanded an apology from the Congress for using terms like "Hindu terrorism" and claimed that the narrative set by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government of "saffron terrorism" has been exposed today.
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde welcomed the NIA court's verdict, saying that innocent people were held in jail for an "extremely long time".
BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad alleged that the entire case was part of a "Congress conspiracy" to promote the narrative of "Hindu terror" for political gains.
Nishikant Dubey also launched a sharp attack on the Congress party, accusing it of promoting the narrative of "Saffron Terrorism."
Veteran BJP leader Uma Bharti also broke down in tears after the verdict and said that the way Pragya was tortured in jail, it is very difficult for any woman to bear that. Bharti blamed several political parties for labelling her and others under the term 'Bhagwa terror'.
BJP MP Ravi Kishan, earlier today, criticised the Congress for what he described as the politically motivated use of the term "Bhagwa Terrorism" and demanded accountability in Parliament.
Yog Guru Baba Ramdev said that there were efforts to defame Hindutva, Sanatan Dharma, and the saffron colour. He criticised the terms 'Hindu terrorism' and 'saffron terrorism,' claiming that these plans to tarnish India's values have now failed.
The opposition parties said that the verdict was intended to suppress the big news of the US announcing the imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on India.
Akhilesh Yadav asked whether the news of the acquittal of the Malegaon blast case accused was intended to suppress the big news of the US announcing the imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on India.
He said, "I did not read the report, but the accused who were involved in such a huge incident should be punished. Such a big thing happened in America, is this news to suppress that? Tariff is a big question."
AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi also criticised the verdict, calling it "disappointing" and asking whether the Maharashtra government will challenge the verdict just like they did for the 2006 Mumbai blasts.
Further hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre for "making a terror accused a Member of Parliament," he demanded accountability for the agencies' "faulty investigation."
PDP President Mehbooba Mufti said it feels like "Godse's Constitution" is now in effect in the country, accusing the BJP of undermining the rule of law. She also compared their BJP's celebration of the acquittal to their support for the release of the rapists in the Bilkis Bano case.
Amid the BJP's charge on the Congress-led UPA governments of fabricating "Saffron Terror" narrative, Congress MP Digvijaya Singh rejected the allegations and said that terrorism has no colour, and he with party leader Janardan Dwivedi, opposed the use of such a term.
Speaking to ANI, Singh said that there must be someone guilty if all of the accused are acquitted. He also alleged that BJP leader RK Singh was the one who called it "Sangh terror", who was further elevated as Minister by his party.
The 2008 Malegaon blast case was transferred to the NIA in 2011 from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). After a 17-year-long wait, examination of hundreds of witnesses, the NIA special court on Thursday acquitted all seven people accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and all other charges.
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.