Mumbai

Six relatives of victims of the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast have approached the Bombay High Court, challenging the acquittal of seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. The petition, filed on Monday by Nisar Ahmed Sayyed Bilal and five others through advocate Mateen Shaikh, seeks to quash the special NIA court’s July 31 judgment.

The blast occurred on September 29, 2008, when an explosive-laden motorcycle detonated near a mosque in Malegaon, Nashik district, killing six people and injuring 101. The petitioners argued that the special court’s acquittal was legally flawed and should be overturned.

The NIA court had stated that mere suspicion could not replace concrete evidence and noted the prosecution failed to provide reliable and cogent proof to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The case alleged that right-wing extremists carried out the blast to terrorise the Muslim community in Malegaon.

The accused include Thakur, Purohit, Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni, all of whom were acquitted due to gaps in investigation and lack of strong evidence.