Mumbai, Jul 31 (PTI) Sameer Kulkarni, one of the seven persons acquitted in the Malegaon blast case on Thursday, said had his co-accused not hired a lawyer, the trial would have ended 15 years back.
He also accused both the defence and prosecution of prolonging the trial.
“I thank the court. I did not hire any lawyer as I trusted our judicial system. I had approached Bombay High Court to expedite the case and also went on fast 26 times for it,” Kulkarni, who argued his case himself, told PTI Videos.
“All accused were innocent. Had they not hired a lawyer, the case would have been over 15 years back,” Kulkarni said.
Nearly 17 years after a blast in Malegaon town of north Maharashtra claimed six lives, a special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, noting there was “no reliable and cogent evidence” against them.
An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008 killing six persons and injuring 101 others.
Besides former BJP MP Pragya Thakur, Lieutenant Colonel Purohit and Kulkarni, the accused comprised Major Ramesh Upadhyay (Retd), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sudhakar Chaturvedi. PTI PR BNM
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