Bombay HC Discharges Four in 2006 Malegaon Blasts Case

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday discharged four men accused in the 2006 Malegaon serial bomb blasts case, quashing charges against them and declaring that the probe has reached a dead end after nearly two decades of conflicting investigations. The decision by a bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Shyam Chandak leaves no suspects currently facing trial, deepening the mystery surrounding the explosions that killed 31 people and injured more than 300 in the town of Malegaon, Maharashtra.

The blasts occurred on September 8, 2006, when four bombs detonated in quick succession: three near the Hamidia Masjid and Bada Kabrastan cemetery shortly after Friday prayers, and one at Mushawarat Chowk. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) initially investigated, arresting nine Muslim men and filing a chargesheet in December 2006 that detailed a conspiracy allegedly hatched at a wedding months earlier. Forensic evidence, including traces of RDX explosive in soil samples from the blast sites and a godown linked to one suspect, supported the ATS narrative. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which took over in February 2007, endorsed this line in a...