2006 Malegaon blast case: Bombay HC quashes charges against four accused
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The Bombay High Court on Wednesday quashed an order passed by a special court for framing of charges against four persons accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case, The Indian Express reported.
They were the last remaining persons accused in the matter.
The special court had in September ordered the charges to be framed against Manohar Narwaria, Rajendra Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Lokesh Sharma for murder and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
The High Court on Wednesday allowed their appeals against the special court’s order, PTI reported.
On September 8, 2006, bomb blasts took place near a mosque and a cemetery in Maharashtra’s Malegaon. The blasts killed 31 persons and injured more than 300.
The state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad had arrested nine Muslim men in connection with the blasts, PTI reported.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, which took over the probe in 2017, had also named them as the accused in the matter, The Indian Express reported.
However, the National Investigation Agency, which began its probe in 2011, had said that the Muslim men were innocent and had suspected members of Hindutva organisations of having carried out the blasts, the newspaper reported.
The prosecution’s change of stance was based on a statement made in 2010 by Aseemanand, a person accused in other cases, The Indian...