Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 2 : Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a former BJP MP, on Saturday hailed the NIA court's verdict acquitting all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, citing it as a victory for the patriots.
Thakur, who was among the acquitted, claimed that those who filed the case have been punished, adding, "Where there is patriotism, traitors cannot survive."
"I will only say that where there is patriotism, traitors cannot survive...Maharashtra resides in my heart...Those who filed the Malegaon case in Maharashtra have been punished," she told ANI.
Earlier in the day, the former BJP MP signified the victory of "Bhagawa, Sanatana aur Rashtra" while accusing the Congress of fabricating the case for political gains and defaming nationalists.
Thakur said she would continue to serve the country despite the hardships she faced. Speaking to ANI, Thakur said, "Bhagawa, Sanatana aur Rashtra ki vijay hui hai. I had to face a lot of difficulties, but I will keep doing everything possible for the country in future. Congress falsely made the entire case. This case was baseless. Congress always uses respectful words for terrorists. Congress party cannot become a nation-loving party."
On 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.
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 eight defence witnesses before pronouncing the verdict. The seven people have been acquitted of all charges 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