Malegaon blast case verdict: Truth has come out, says RSS leader Ambekar

Nagpur, Jul 31 (PTI) The Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sunil Ambekar on Thursday hailed the court's verdict acquitting all seven accused in the Malegaon blast case and said it had brought out the truth.

Some people had raised this issue "because of their personal and political reasons" and had tried to "connect the entire Hindu community and Hindu dharma with terrorism", Ambekar told PTI.

Nearly 17 years after a blast in Malegaon town of north Maharashtra claimed six lives, a special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the seven accused noting there was "no reliable and cogent evidence" against them. Terrorism has no religion, the court said, adding it cannot convict on mere perception.

An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008 killing six persons and injuring 101 others.

"The truth is clear by the decision of the court. Some people raised this issue because of their personal and political reasons. They tried to connect the Hindu community and Hindu dharm with terrorism," Ambekar said.

It was a long trial, after which the court gave its judgment based on many evidences, he added.

The verdict has proved all the allegations were baseless, the RSS leader asserted.

Special Judge A K Lahoti, assigned to hear cases of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) here, flagged several loopholes in the prosecution's case and the investigation carried out, and said the accused persons deserved the benefit of doubt.

Besides former BJP MP Pragya Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Purohit, the accused comprised Major Ramesh Upadhyay (Retd), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni.

The court directed the government to pay a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to families of the six dead persons and Rs 50,000 to each of the 101 persons injured in the blast. PTI CLS BNM