By TCN Staff reporter,
Malegaon: With the demand for release of nine Malegaon Muslims who are in jail for five years in connection with the bomb blast that rocked the city in 2006, Malegaon residents have been on hunger strike since April 25, 2011 at Mushawarat Chock of Malegaon. During these 150 days no government officials or representatives have reached them to talk about the issue.
The hunger strike is being organized by a committee consisting members of all secular groups. So far, 600 men and women participated in the strike. The committee gave slogan ‘Musalsal zulm ke khilaf Musalsal ehtejaz’ (Continuous agitation against continuous cruelty).
The former MLA and patron of the committee said that the residents of Malegaon believe that all arrested nine Muslims are innocents and recently NIA which is probing the case also hinted about their innocence. “We are organizing the hunger strike with the demand for release of all nine Muslims and ban on RSS” he said while talking to reporters.
A series of blasts outside and near the Qabristan Mosque had rocked Malegaon, minutes after the Friday prayers on September 8, 2006. Thirty-two people were killed and more than three hundred were injured. The Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested nine Muslims and chargesheeted them as the culprits. But residents of Malegaon did not accept the police theory that it was handiwork of Muslims and continuously demanded fair probe.
Meanwhile, Malegaon was again rocked by the blast on 29, Sept. 2008. Slain Hemant Karkare, the then ATS chief, who was investigating the case, revealed that the blast was carried out by Hindu terrorists. Thus for the first time the hidden face of the Hindu terrorists was exposed and Sadhvi Pragya Singh, Colonel Purohit and other extremists belonging to Abhinav Bharat and other Hindu extremist organizations were arrested.
And then as the result of continuous demand by Muslim community, the Maharashtra government ordered CBI inquiry into 2006 Malegaon blast. But unfortunately CBI could not complete the investigation but whenever nine Muslim accused moved the court with bail pleas, CBI opposed it.
But a new development took place in December 2010 when RSS pracharak Swami Assemanand was arrested in Samjhauta Express blast case and he admitted before a magistrate that the Sept 2006 Malegaon blast too was carried out by Hindutva group. Since then, the Malegaon residents have stepped up their demand for the release of the accused.
Meanwhile, new Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan handed over the 2006 Malegaon blast case to National Investigation Agencies (NIA). The NIA hinted that it would not oppose the bail plea of accused nine Muslim. It also admitted that ATS and CBI took decision hurriedly in the case.