CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR, 31 JULY

AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel on Thursday demanded that the Maharashtra government challenge the acquittal of seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case in the Bombay High Court.

After a special court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Jaleel asked, "Who are the real perpetrators?"

He also referred to the recent acquittal of all 12 individuals by the Bombay HC in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case.

"Individuals accused of the 7/11 bombings languished in jails for 19 years. After they were acquitted, the state government stated that the verdict was not acceptable. If the accused in both the cases (Malegaon and Mumbai train bombing) are innocent, then who was responsible for engineering the blasts?" he asked while speaking to reporters.

If the acquittal in the Malegaon blast case is not challenged (in the High Court), the apex court can take suo motu cognisance and direct the government to appeal against the lower court order, the former Aurangabad MP added.

He said the acquittal order should be reviewed without any bias of religion or caste.

Citing the long wait of 17 years before the verdict is pronounced, Jaleel said judgments in such cases should be delivered swiftly.

"Even after waiting for more than a decade, we still don't know who was behind the blasts", he added.