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2008 Malegaon Blast Case: The court states that there is no reliable evidence for the warrant sentence; Why all the 7 accused were closed here. Bharat News
New Delhi: On Thursday, a special NIA court acquitted former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and five others in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.The court cited the UAPA, Arms Act, and lack of evidence in implementing other allegations in the 17 -year blast case, which claimed six people.
“I’ve been saying this from the beginning. I was called, and I went to the ATS because I respect the law. I was illegally detained and tortured for 13 days. I was living my life as a sannyasi and a terrorist was labeled. My life was destroyed by allegations.
Pragya Singh Thakur said after verdict
Why was the accused acquitted?
- The court said that he could not blame anyone only on perception and moral evidence; There should be cogent evidence.
- The court said, “Only doubt cannot replace the real evidence. No religion teaches violence … There is no religion of Terrorism, but the court cannot guilty only perception and moral,” is said in the court.
- The court ruled that the illegal activities (prevention) Act (UAPA) could not be implemented as the approval for prosecution was not obtained according to legal requirements. The court said, “The UAPA will not be implemented in the case as the approval was not taken as per the rules. Both approval orders under the UAPA are faulty.”
- The court said that the investigating agency failed to prove that the motorcycle used in the blast was Pragya Thakur.
- It was also observed that Thakur had abandoned physical property and became a sannyasi two years before the explosion.
- Giving the verdict, the court said that although the prosecution established that an explosion in Malegaon could not prove that the bomb was located in a motorcycle recovered from the scene.
- The court said that the crime site was not stopped properly, causing contamination.
- It also noted the discrepancies in the number of victims, and said “the injured were not 95 but 95, and some medical certificates were manipulated.”
- On the alleged role of Abhinav India, the court said that there was no physical evidence to support the prosecution claims. The court said, “Abhinav Bharat was used as a general reference by the prosecution. There is no evidence that its money was used for terrorist activities.”
- The court ordered the government to compensate each family of six people killed by Rs 2 lakh, and every Rs 50,000 to get injured.
What do we know about 17 year old case
- On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and several others were injured, when a bomb was reportedly collided near a motorcycle for a motorcycle, which was near a mosque in Malegaon city, Nashik, during Ramadan, during Ramadan and on the eve of Navratri.
- The ATS alleged that the motorcycle belonged to Thakur, and the priest brought RDX from Jammu and Kashmir and stored it in his home.
- Initially, Thakur and Purohit were arrested in late 2008, led by Maharashtra ATS under investigation under the late Hemant Karkare.
- The ATS, for the first time, accused the participation of “saffron extremists” and linked the accused with a large conspiracy, also named them in relation to other blast cases.
- The investigation of the Abhinav Bharat Sangathan suggested a network of meetings and alleged plans to avenge alleged atrocities against Hindus and to create a “Central Hindu Sarkar” (Aryawart).
- The case was transferred to the NIA in 2011. In 2015, Special Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian claimed that he was directed by the NIA to “soft” the accused, resulting in a change in the prosecution team.
- In May 2016, the NIA filed a supplementary charge sheet alleging that the ATS had put RDX marks to frame the priest. The agency also gave a clean chit to Thakur and others citing lack of evidence.
- Despite the findings of the NIA, the special court proceeded with allegations against seven accused under the UAPA, although it abandoned the allegations under the MCOCA.
