Mumbai: Families of the 2006 Malegaon blast
victims, who died in the blast, are demanding that the real
culprits be brought to book.
On September 8, 2006, powerful multiple blasts near
Hamidia mosque in Bada Kabaristan area in Malegaon after
Shab-e-Barat prayers killed 37 people and injured over 100.
"We want the real accused to be brought to book. We want
justice," said Shafiq Ahmed, who lost his son Sajid who was to
go to China to pursue a MBBS degree course, in the blast.
"The arrest of the seven persons and bail to them after
five years means that justice has been delayed by five years
to us," he told agency over phone from Malegaon.
Shafiq further said that he wanted the NIA to initiate a
probe against the officers of ATS and CBI, who made wrong
arrests and later went ahead with the case.
"The accused who have been granted bail are not the real
culprits," he said.
Mohammed Mangla, who lost his son Azhar, brother Majid
and nephew Ansad in the blast, demanded that police reveal the
names of the killers quickly.
"We don`t know who the real culprits are. The families of
the victims don`t know who the killers are. The police should
tell us who killed my family members," he said.
Salman Malik, whose only son Ashar was among those killed
in the blast, alleged that the government had neglected the
victims` families.
"We were given only Rs two lakhs (as compensation), one
lakh each from the State and Central government respectively.
Other than that we haven`t been provided any help.
"We had submitted a memorandum to the government in this
regard but everything went futile," said Salman, adding that
there was no one to take care of him and his wife after the
death of his 11-year-old son in the blast.
Maharashtra ATS, which had probed the case initially, had
arrested nine persons - Salman Farsi, Shabir Ahmed, Noorulhuda
Doha, Rais Ahmed, Mohammed Ali, Asif Khan, Javed Sheikh,
Farooque Ansari and Abrar Ahmed - for their alleged
involvement in the blasts in the minority-dominated powerloom
town in Nashik district.
However, they were granted bail by the special MCOCA
court on November 5 and all of them barring -- Asif Khan and
Mohammed Ali, who are accused in the 2006 Mumbai train serial
blasts case too, were released from jail yesterday.
In December 2006, the Malegaon blast case was handed over
to the CBI.
Later the NIA, a special anti-terror probe agency created
in 2009, took over the probe.
NIA had chosen not to oppose the bail plea of the nine
accused following the confession of Swami Aseemanand (arrested
for 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast) about the alleged
involvement of a right-wing group in the Malegaon blast.
PTI
