Impossible that Muslims would have decided to kill their own people: Court

The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court, which discharged eight accused in the Malegoan 2006 blasts, observed that it was impossible that the accused who are Muslims themselves, would have decided to kill their own people to create disharmony between two communities, that too on a holy day of Shab-E-Barat.

The court also held that the ATS officers discharged their public duty in a “wrong way” and merely on suspicion projected the eight persons as accused in the case.

Ten years after a series of bombs exploded in Malegaon, killing 37 people, the court had on Monday dropped charges against the eight Muslim men due to the lack of evidence against them.

“In my view the basic foundation or the object shown by ATS behind the blast dated September 8, 2006, is not acceptable to a man of ordinary prudence. I say so because there was Ganesh immersion just prior to it...Had the accused had any object that there should be riots at Malegaon, then they ought to have planted bombs at the time of Ganesh immersion day, which would have caused death of most of the Hindus,” observed special NIA judge VV Patil.

The court said after scanning of the probe papers of ATS, it emerged that there is not sufficient ground for proceedings against the accused persons.