Justice not done, will move higher courts, say kin of Malegaon blast victims

The verdict of the trial court in the 2008 Malegaon blast was "wrong" and he will move even the Supreme Court to get justice if necessary, said the father of Farheen (10), the youngest victim of the tragedy, on Thursday.

67-year-old Liyaqat Shaikh was speaking to media persons in Malegaon after the special NIA court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused in the case including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit.

Six persons including his daughter Farheen were killed and 101 injured in the blast in the north Maharashtra town on September 29, 2008.


Recalling the incident, Shaikh, a driver by profession, said Farheen had left house to buy 'vada-pav' (a snack) at Bhikku Chowk on that day.

"I heard the sound of a blast. We lived near the blast site, in a tin-roof house. I got out of the house to look for my daughter but could not find her. It was dark outside. Somebody said there was a girl among the injured, so my wife and I went to the hospital where we found her in a bad situation," he said.

Then Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare had arrested the accused persons with enough evidence, he said.

"The verdict of the court is wrong. We will go to the Supreme Court to seek justice," Shaikh added.

Nisar Ahmed, whose son Sayyed Azhar was one of those who died in the blast, said they did not get justice and will approach higher courts. Victims of any blast, whichever religion they may belong to, should get justice, he said.

Usman Khan, whose nephew Irfan Khan died in the blast, said Irfan drove an auto rickshaw and had gone out to have tea at Bhikku Chowk when the blast ripped through the place. He was shifted to Mumbai in a badly injured condition and died at the government hospital after 10 hours of treatment, Khan said.

He was not happy with the verdict, he said.

"First some Muslims were arrested in the case, and they got a clean chit later. Now these people too were not convicted, so who was the culprit?" he asked.