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Advocate JP Mishra, counsel for Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, on Saturday said the court's verdict has vindicated their stance that the case against the BJP MP was fabricated and driven by political motives.
Terming the judgment as "well-balanced and unique," Mishra stated that the court prepared a comprehensive 52-point index while assessing the evidence. "The judgment of the court is very well balanced and unique. The court has prepared a 52-point index. When the court saw our case, it realised that our arguments were against a fabricated case thrown upon us. After being completely satisfied, the court ordered an enquiry and ordered that the accused be punished," he said. He further noted that the special NIA court took into account the gravity of the incident, where six people lost their lives and around 100 were injured in the Malegaon blast. "The court also took cognisance of the fact that 6 people died and 100 were injured in the blast, and they should get justice. The court ordered the Maharashtra government to provide an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, and Rs 50000 each to the injured," Mishra said The advocate also criticised what he termed the "saffron terror" narrative, alleging it was crafted for political reasons in the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. "The court also ordered an enquiry of the accused... This whole case was based on 'saffron terror' because of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. All the terror activities were being carried out by people of a particular religion and they would be arrested. So to balance it out, even if a person is not involved an act, innocent people were arrested... They tried to prove their 'saffron terror' propaganda by accusing Hindus in various terror attacks." Mumbai Special National Investigative Agency Court (NIA) on Thursday acquitted all seven accused of being involved in the 2008 blasts in Malegaon, with the court saying the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt. A total of seven people were accused, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni. The court had examined 323 prosecution witnesses and eight defence witnesses before pronouncing the verdict. The accused 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. 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 Bhijju Chowk. Originally, 11 people were charged in the case; however, the court ultimately framed charges against seven. The lawyer representing the victims' families said that he will be challenging the acquittal of the seven people in the High Court. (ANI)
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