The court had examined 323 prosecution witnesses and 8 defence witnesses before pronouncing the verdict. The 7 people have been acquitted of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and all other charges
-1753944148366_d.png "2008 Malegaon Blast case: Sadhvi Pragya, 6 others acquitted by Mumbai NIA court; Rs 2 lakh compensation to victims' families")
Accused Sameer Kulkarni (left). Accused former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur (centre). Accused Ramesh Upadhyay (right). PICS/ PTI
On Thursday, Mumbai’s special NIA court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, stating that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also directed the Maharashtra government to provide Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured in the blast.
The accused included former MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (also known as Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni.
“All bail bonds stand cancelled and sureties are discharged,” the court declared in its verdict, reported news agency ANI.
The court had examined 323 prosecution witnesses and 8 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.
"Prosecution proved that a blast occurred in Malegaon but failed to prove that a bomb was placed in that motorcycle," Judge Abhay Lohati said.
The court also mentioned that there was some manipulation of medical certificates. "The court has come to the conclusion that injured people were not 101 but 95 only and there was manipulation. In some medical certificates," the court said, as per the news agency ANI.
The court also said that there is no evidence of storing or assembling the explosives in Prasad Purohit's residence, who was another accused in the case.
"No sketch of the spot was done by the investigation officer while doing the panchnama. No fingerprint, dump data or anything else was collected for the spot. The samples were contaminated so reports can't be conclusive and relied upon," the court said, according to ANI.
On the alleged role of the Abhinav Bharat organisation, the court said that there was no evidence of the funds of organisation being used for terror activities.
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.
(With ANI inputs)
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