Malegaon blasts- Maharashtra government challenges discharge of 8

The Maharashtra government has filed an appeal in the Bombay high court challenging the decision to discharge 8 persons in the Malegaon blasts case of 2006.

The National Investigation Agency had submitted that it found no evidence against the 8 persons following the Mumbai court dropped charges.

The case was initially handled by the Maharashtra ATS and later probed by the CBI. The case was then handed over to the NIA which found no evidence against these persons. Six of those discharged are from Malegaon. On September 8 2006, a blast in Malegaon killed 31 persons and injured several others.

These men who were arrested had alleged that they were tortured into making confessional statements by the police.

While the ATS had alleged that it was the SIMI which carried out the blast, the findings were confirmed by the CBI as well. However the NIA while probing the case stated that these blasts were carried out by the Abhinav Bharat.