Owaisi calls Malegaon verdict disappointing, questions accountability of NIA, ATS officials
Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi called the acquittal of all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case “disappointing” and blamed the outcome on a “deliberately shoddy” investigation and prosecution.
Reacting on social media platform X, Owaisi said the blast killed six namazis and injured nearly 100 others. “They were targeted for their religion,” he wrote, calling the attack communal.
He noted that 17 years after the attack, the court cleared all accused due to lack of evidence. He questioned whether the Modi and Fadnavis governments would appeal, as they did in the 2006 Mumbai train blast case. “Who killed the six people?” he asked, urging secular parties in Maharashtra to demand accountability.
Owaisi cited former prosecutor Rohini Salian, who in 2016 said the NIA asked her to go soft on the accused. “In 2017, NIA tried to get Sadhvi Pragya acquitted. She became a BJP MP in 2019,” he added.
He also recalled Hemant Karkare, the ATS chief who first investigated the case and later died in the 26/11 attacks. “Karkare uncovered the conspiracy. That BJP MP claimed she cursed him, and his death was the result,” Owaisi wrote.
He questioned if NIA and ATS officers would face scrutiny for what he termed a compromised investigation. “I think we know the answer. This is the ‘tough on terror’ Modi government,” he said. “The world will remember it made a terror accused an MP.”
1. The Malegaon blast case verdict is disappointing. Six namazis were killed in the blast and nearly 100 were injured. They were targeted for their religion. A deliberately shoddy investigation/prosecution is responsible for the acquittal.
2. 17 years after the blast, the Court…— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) July 31, 2025