Seventeen years after the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, the court ruled that the seven accused were innocent, citing a lack of solid evidence and witnesses. According to Justice Lahoti's ruling, accusations couldn't be based purely on narratives without concrete proof or credible witnesses.
The court acknowledged that neither traces of RDX and bomb ownership, nor forensic analysis, nor phone tapping of the accused could establish evidence. Claims regarding the misuse of funds from 'Abhinav Bharat' for terrorism and conspiracy to bomb fell flat, as the ATS and NIA failed to prove their charges.
This decision is likely to be challenged in higher courts. Whether the government will contest it remains uncertain, but families of victims may pursue it. Politics heated up as BJP accused Congress of exploiting political gain by coining terms like 'Hindu' and 'Saffron' terrorism, implicating innocent people.
Source: aajtak
BJP leaders loudly proclaim the impossibility of Hindus being terrorists, a sentiment echoed yesterday by the Union Home Minister in the parliament and repeated today by every BJP spokesperson. Yet, apart from this political narrative and potential electoral gain, significant questions arise about investigative inefficacies: did investigation agencies fail, or did politics succeed?
The Blast Occurred, No Conviction...
In 2008, the explosion happened. 11 were charged, and by 2025, all were acquitted. 17 years back, six people died, 101 were injured. After 17 years, the revelation was that all accused were innocent.
As verdicts were read, the charges in the charge sheet vanished one by one. Allegations against Colonel Purohit for acquiring RDX lacked evidence. Alleged bomb creation by him and the bike belonging to Sadhvi Pragya – no proof exists for these claims. Who parked the bike at the site was unclear, amidst accusations of stone-pelting without proof.
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Although public property was damaged, the culprit remains unidentified. Weapons were seized post-blast, yet it wasn't clear who seized them. Charges of bomb explosion execution with conspiracy, alongside 'Abhinav Bharat' funds allegedly being used for terrorism, lacked substantiation.
With no evidence found, the once-imprisoned and tortured accused, whose lives were disrupted for years, were exonerated. Some cried in court, expressing relief at finally attaining justice.
Accused No. 1 - Pragya Singh Thakur - Acquitted
Accused No. 4 - Major (Retd.) Ramesh Upadhyay - Acquitted
Accused No. 5 - Sameer Kulkarni - Acquitted
Accused No. 6 - Ajay Rahirkar - Acquitted
Accused No. 9 - Lt.Col. (Retd.) Prasad Purohit - Acquitted
Accused No. 10 - Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi - Acquitted
Accused No. 11 - Sudhakar Chaturvedi - Acquitted
The court remarked how investigative agencies had crafted narratives without any evidence presented by the prosecution to convict the accused.
Source: aajtak
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The political sphere has erupted over this verdict. BJP claims it's a strategy by Congress against Hindus, while opponents criticize investigative failures, and victim families foresee appeals in higher courts. The overarching debate about 'Saffron Terror' intrigues continues in political arenas.
BJP now accuses Congress of plotting against Hinduism and Saffron, while the opposition raises doubts about the investigation, political motivation, and ruling party's intentions.
Two Verdicts…Countless Questions
While all accused in the Mumbai train blast and Malegaon blast were acquitted, the narrative politics prevail. Yet, mystery surrounds finding the true culprits behind the 189 lives lost in the 2006 Mumbai serial blast and six in 2008 Malegaon blast, with investigation agencies struggling to identify the perpetrators.
In light of this verdict, political chorus intensifies, but within the democratic framework, the public faith in justice weakens, unfavorable for national peace and progress.
