Feb. 20: Union minority affairs minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday said that the investigation into the 2006 Malegaon blast carried out by the Maharashtra ATS and the CBI were unfair. Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan also echoed Mr Khurshid’s sentiments and said that the 2006 Malegaon blast case was a “painful chapter”.
Mr Khurshid, Mr Chavan and former BJP president Rajnath Singh were among the dignitaries who attended a seminar organised by a Urdu news channel in Mumbai. Speaking to the media after the seminar, Mr Khurshid said that it was unjust against the nine Muslim boys who were arrested in connection with the 2006 Malegaon blast.
“It is very clear that injustice has happened. Hundred per cent foolproof investigations are not possible in any case. In many cases, people are arrested during investigation, brought before court and some of them are set free. But repeatedly targeting certain people is unfair,” the Union minister said.
The initial investigations carried out by the Maharashtra ATS concluded that the 2006 Malegaon blast, in which 36 people were killed outside a mosque, was carried out by radical Muslim organisations. Later, the CBI took over the investigation and worked on the same lines. However, in November 2010, Swami Aseemanand, who was arrested in connection with another blast case in Ajmer, confessed that the 2006 Malegaon blast, along with Mecca Masjid blast, Samjhauta Express blast were carried out by his associates.
Mr Khurshid said that in the wake of this confession, a review of the investigation carried out by the ATS and CBI was warranted. “Union home minister P. Chidambaram was in touch with Maharashtra chief minister and Union law minister Veerappa Moily to take the case to its logical conclusion,” he said.
Earlier, speaking in the same conference, Mr Chavan had said, “The Malegaon case was a painful chapter in the state’s history. The arrested accused will get justice. The case was given to the CBI after the people demanded it. After the incident, a few things have come up which will be considered.”
He added that justice will be delivered to every individual of the state, an innocent won’t pay for someone else’s crime and a criminal won’t be let free. Former BJP president Rajnath Singh said his party believes that terrorism does not have a religious colour. He denied that either he or L.K. Advani visited Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh in jail.