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Reacting to the acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, Shahid Nadeem, the lawyer representing the families of the victims, expressed deep disappointment, saying that even after 17 years, "no justice" has been served.
Speaking to ANI on Saturday, Nadeem explained that the court gave the accused "benefit of the doubt" due to lack of a clear link in the statements made by officers of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). "No justice has been done to the victims even after 17 years... The court said that the prosecution failed to establish concrete evidence about the involvement of the accused," he said. He further raised concerns about the sanction under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), noting that the legality of the sanction would need to be examined by the High Court. "The doors of the High Court are still open... The declaration of UAPA sanction as illegal would have to be looked into by the High Court... A benefit of the doubt has been given because there was no clear link with the ATS officers' statements," Nadeem added. On Thursday, Mumbai's NIA special court acquitted all seven accused of being involved in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, with the court saying that the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The NIA court has also ordered the Maharashtra government to award Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of the victims and Rs 50,000 compensation to the injured. A total of seven people were accused, including former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni. "All bail bonds of the accused are cancelled and sureties are discharged," the NIA special court said. The court had examined 323 prosecution witnesses and eight 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. 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 BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya. (ANI)
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