Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 31 : Following the acquittal of all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, Spiritual leader Jagadguru Rambhadracharya on Thursday said that Congress could not collect any evidence and legal action should be taken against them.
While speaking to ANI in Chitrakoot, Rambhadracharya said, "This has exposed Congress. They could not collect any evidence... We won today and all the acquitted must collectively file a defamation suit against Congress and there should be legal action against them...
"Hindus can never be terrorists, take a look at the history..." he further told ANI.
His remarks came after the Mumbai Special National Investigative Agency Court (NIA) acquitted all seven accused of being involved in the 2008 blasts in Malegaon, with the court saying the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Seven accused, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni, are charged under the UAPA, Arms Act and others.
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 and examination of hundreds of witnesses, the NIA special court today 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.
The lawyer representing the victims' families said that he will be challenging the acquittal of the seven people in the High Court.