CPI(M) Dubs Malegaon Blast Verdict as “Travesty of Justice”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday expressed deep disappointment and dismay over the acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

“CPI(M) expresses dismay and deep disappointment over the verdict in the Malegaon Blasts Case. The blasts had killed six innocent people and injured nearly hundred. It is a travesty of justice that the accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, then a serving Army officer, and others, have been acquitted on the pretext of lack of evidence and procedural lapses,” according to a statement of the party’s Politbureau.

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Asserting that the special NIA court cited lack of evidence and procedural lapses in its verdict, which comes 17 years after the incident that killed six people and injured over 100, the CPI(M) said: “It is yet another case of undue delay and eventual denial of justice to the victims of the terrorist act by an extremist Hindutva group.”

Asserting that the “accused were patronised and supported by the RSS-BJP all through” and “the verdict comes a day after Home Minister Amit Shah made a statement in Parliament that no Hindu can be a terrorist,” the Left Party demanded that the government appeal against the NIA Court’s decision.

The Malegaon blast occurred on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai.

The accused included former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, and five others who faced charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).