Court sets free 8 Muslim youths in '06 Malegaon case

The accused were discharged by V V Patil, Designated Judge of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), nearly 10 years after the serial bomb blasts outside a Muslim cemetery near a Mosque at Malegaon, near Nashik, on September 8, 2006, killing 37 people and leaving over 100 injured.

Bombs were planted on a bicycle parked near the cemetery while Friday prayers were on at the Mosque on the occasion of Shab-e-Baraat.

Nine accused were initially arrested in the case and chargesheeted by the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS). One of them died while the case was pending. Later, CBI, which took over the investigations, also confirmed the charges against them.

Subsequently, NIA was asked to probe the case and the agency arrested another set of people belonging to the majority community, who continue to be accused in the case.

The judge said that he was accepting the discharge application filed by the 8 accused as there was no evidence to prove their guilt.