The VHP condemned the acquittal of all nine accused in the 2006 Nanded blast case, demanding an apology from Congress, which was in power during the incident. The VHP claims the court ruling exposes the Congress party's attempt to falsely label Hindus as terrorists.
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The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has condemned the acquittal of the nine surviving accused in the 2006 Nanded blast case, describing the verdict as a "tight slap" on the face of the Congress party. The VHP also demanded an apology from the party’s top leadership to Hindu society, following the court’s decision.
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The session court in Maharashtra’s Nanded acquitted all nine accused on Saturday, ending a long-running trial that has sparked political controversy. The case, which had remained under investigation for nearly two decades, involved an explosion at the home of Laxman Rajkondwar, allegedly an RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) worker, on April 4-5, 2006. The blast killed his son Naresh Rajkondwar and VHP activist Himanshu Panse, who were reportedly assembling an explosive device at the time.
In a statement, VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal remarked that the acquittal has exposed the Congress party's efforts to label Hindus as terrorists. He pointed out that the investigation was initially handled by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Bansal further claimed that the Congress and Maharashtra ATS had already been discredited in relation to the Malegaon blast case, and now the Nanded case has further revealed their "anti-Hindu misdeeds."
“The Congress’ attempt to tarnish the reputation of Hindus through the 2006 Nanded blast case has been thoroughly debunked with this acquittal," Bansal said. "This is a significant defeat for the Congress, and at least now, the party’s leadership should apologise to the Hindu community."
The 2006 Nanded blast case has been under investigation for years, with 49 prosecution witnesses examined during the trial. Defence lawyer Nitin Runwal explained that the prosecution failed to present convincing evidence that the incident was a bomb blast, as the defence argued it could have been the result of a gas cylinder explosion or some other inflammable object.
At the time of the incident, both the Congress-led central government and the Maharashtra government were in power. The acquittal of the accused follows years of legal proceedings that have cast a long shadow on the case.
The Congress party has yet to respond to the VHP's demands for an apology.
(With inputs from PTI)
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