Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 31 : The lawyer of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, one of the accused acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, welcomed the court's verdict on Thursday, saying that it has been proven that nothing like "saffron terrorism" exists.
The NIA court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused, including Sadhvi Pragya, in the case that had dragged on for 17 years.
Speaking to ANI after the judgment, Advocate JP Mishra said, "After the struggle of 17 years, it has been proven that nothing like saffron terrorism exists. Congress wrongly implicated people in this saffron terrorism case just before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections."
Advocate JP Mishra also referred to remarks by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying, "Yesterday, the Union Home Minister also said that a Hindu cannot be a terrorist."
This comes after the Mumbai Special National Investigative Agency Court (NIA) today 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.
Soon after the verdicts, Sadhvi Pragya Singh's sister Upma Singh reacted to the acquittal of her sister, saying, "Truth has won. Sadhvi was with the truth, and that is why she has won... Without proving her crime, she was tortured arbitrarily in a way that cannot be described in words. Only she knows what she suffered."She further spoke about the trauma their family endured during the trial period."
Furthermore, Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and veteran BJP leader Uma Bharti broke down in tears, saying 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'.
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 Bhijju Chowk. Originally, 11 people were charged in the case; however, the court ultimately framed charges against seven.
The lawyer representing the victims' families said that he will be challenging the acquittal of the seven people in the High Court.