Malegaon verdict | Owaisi questions Centre's 'hypocrisy', hopes decision will be challenged in SC

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday questioned the "hypocrisy" of the BJP government on terrorism over the acquittal of all the seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, and hoped the Centre will challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court. The seven accused who were acquitted by a special court in Mumbai include former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. The September 2008 blasts near a mosque in the Maharashtra town killed six persons and injured 101. Speaking to reporters in the Parlaiment complex, Owaisi said, “Will the Modi government and the Maharashtra government challenge the verdict in Supreme Court? Or will they continue their hypocrisy on terrorism?” He said the acquittal, coming 17 years after the blasts, raises serious questions about the investigation. “First, the Mumbai ATS under Hemant Karkare probed the case, and then it went to the NIA. The investigation was deeply flawed. Despite the NIA saying military-grade RDX was used, no accountability has been fixed as to where that RDX came from,” he said.

Owaisi also referred to earlier blasts, including the 2006 Malegaon attack and the Samjhauta Express bombing, arguing that justice has been denied across multiple cases. “Who carried out the Samjhauta blast? Who was behind Mecca Masjid, Ajmer, and Mumbai train blasts? Even in the 2006 Malegaon case, Muslims were arrested and brutally tortured. They were later discharged. So who really did it,” he asked. The AIMIM chief also criticised the "double standards" in terrorism cases, saying, “There cannot be two approaches to terrorism. There has been no closure for the families of the victims, whether it’s Malegaon, Samjhauta, Mumbai, or Mecca Masjid.” He also recalled how in 2015, special prosecutor Rohini Salian alleged pressure to go soft on the accused in the Malegain blasts case. “In 2017, the NIA reintroduced Pragya Thakur's name in the chargesheet. So, who will be held accountable for this mess,” he asked.

Targeting the BJP’s stand against saffron terror claims, Owaisi said, “Was the person who killed Mahatma Gandhi Chinese? Who assassinated Rajiv Gandhi? Who killed Indira Gandhi?” Demanding the government to explain if it intends to appeal the acquittal, Owaisi said, “If the real culprits are roaming free, the country has the right to know who bombed Malegaon in 2008?”