Hours after a special NIA court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched a scathing attack on the Congress. He accused the party of fabricating the ‘saffron terrorism’ narrative to defame Hindus.
“The court’s verdict exposes the UPA government’s conspiracy to insult Hindus by coining the term saffron terrorism,” Fadnavis said.
The acquitted included former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit.
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde also blamed Congress for defaming Hindus. “Hindus can never engage in anti-national activities. The term ‘Hindu terrorism’ was a Congress creation,” he said, calling the verdict a moment of vindication.
In response, the Congress alleged political interference in the investigation. State party president Harshwardhan Sapkal questioned whether the government would appeal the verdict like it did in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings case.
Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant accused the NIA of protecting the accused under pressure.
“Witnesses were enticed, investigations slowed, and public prosecutors influenced,” he further alleged, calling the NIA the ‘NaMo Investigation Agency’.
Calls for Justice and Unanswered Questions
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said the court’s observation of insufficient evidence raises questions. “If the accused were innocent, who planted the bomb that killed six and injured over 100?” he asked.
AIMIM’s Imtiyaz Jalil said the blast was, however, intended to stoke communal tensions and praised late officer Hemant Karkare, who led the initial probe.
The Malegaon blast verdict has reopened fierce political debate, with the BJP hailing it as justice, while opposition leaders accuse the government of shielding the real culprits and undermining investigation agencies.
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