Will PM and Maharashtra CM appeal Malegaon acquittal, like Mumbai train blast verdict? asks Owaisi

Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi described the acquittal of all accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blasts case as ‘disappointing’ even as he questioned whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would appeal the verdict like that against the acquittals in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case.

Mr. Owaisi took to X on Thursday (July 31, 2025) and underscored that six Muslim worshippers were killed in the attack and another 100 were injured near a masjid in Malegaon. He maintained that the attack was a clear act of terrorism targeting Muslims for their faith.

The MP questioned the silence of Maharashtra’s political parties, particularly those who describe themselves as secular, asking whether they would now demand accountability for the failed investigation.

He recalled that it was in 2016 that special public prosecutor Rohini Salian had reportedly stated that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had instructed her to ‘go soft’ on the accused. In 2017, the NIA sought to have Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur acquitted from the case. Ms Thakur, who was later fielded by the BJP, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhopal in 2019.

Mr. Owaisi also recalled the role of police officer Hemant Karkare, from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), who investigated the Malegaon case and was later killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He recollected that Sadhvi Pragya had reportedly stated that she had cursed Mr. Karkare.

He also wondered whether officers in the NIA and ATS would face any consequences for what he described as a ‘faulty’ investigation.

“This is the ‘tough on terror’ Modi government. The world will remember that it made a terror accused a Member of Parliament,” he stated.