AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi fiercely criticized the BJP-led Central and Maharashtra governments on Thursday, accusing them of “hypocrisy” in handling terrorism cases following the acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Owaisi demanded to know if the Modi government would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court, as it swiftly did in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, and questioned the integrity of the investigation that led to the acquittal after 17 years.

The September 29, 2008, blast near a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra, killed six Muslims offering namaz and injured 95, with military-grade RDX allegedly used. The special NIA court, presided over by Judge AK Lahoti, acquitted Thakur, Purohit, and five others—Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni—on July 30, citing “no reliable or cogent evidence” to prove the motorcycle used in the blast belonged to Thakur or that the accused conspired. The court ordered Rs 2 lakh compensation for victims’ families and Rs 50,000 for the injured, with advocate Shahid Nadeem announcing plans to appeal in the Bombay High Court.

Owaisi called the verdict “disappointing,” blaming a “deliberately shoddy” investigation by the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) under Hemant Karkare and later the National Investigation Agency (NIA). “Military-grade RDX was used. Where did it come from? Who’s accountable?” he asked, noting that Karkare, killed by Pakistani terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, had uncovered the Malegaon conspiracy. Owaisi recalled Thakur’s 2019 claim that she “cursed” Karkare, leading to his death, and lambasted the BJP for making her an MP in 2019. “The world will remember this ‘tough on terror’ government made a terror accused a parliamentarian,” he said on X.

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He cited past allegations of interference, including special prosecutor Rohini Salian’s 2016 claim that the NIA pressured her to “go soft” on the accused and the NIA’s 2017 attempt to clear Thakur. “In 2017, who reintroduced Pragya’s name in the chargesheet? Who pressured Salian?” Owaisi demanded. He also highlighted unappealed acquittals in related cases, like the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast (9 killed), 2007 Ajmer Sharif blast (3 killed), and 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing (68 killed), where initial arrests of Muslims were overturned, yet no perpetrators were convicted. “Muslims were tortured in the 2006 Malegaon case, later discharged. Who did it?” he asked, pointing to systemic bias.

Owaisi contrasted the government’s appeal against the Bombay High Court’s July 21, 2025, acquittal of 12 Muslim men in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts (189 killed) with its silence on “saffron terror” cases. “If you appeal Mumbai but not Malegaon, isn’t this hypocrisy?” he said, urging Maharashtra’s “secular” parties to demand accountability. AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel echoed the call, suggesting the Supreme Court might take suo motu cognizance if the state fails to appeal.

The case, initially probed by Karkare’s ATS, which arrested Thakur and Purohit for alleged Hindu extremist links, saw 323 witnesses, 37 of whom turned hostile, and a weakened NIA prosecution after 2011. Owaisi’s scathing critique, backed by victim families’ plans to appeal, reignites debate over justice, political interference, and the BJP’s selective approach to terrorism, with no official response yet from the Centre or Maharashtra government on a Supreme Court challenge.

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