Priyanka Chaturvedi calls for appealing 2006 Mumbai train blast verdict, says "govt did not present foolproof argument"

New Delhi [India], July 22 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has blamed the Maharashtra government for the acquittal of 12 accused people in the 2006 Mumbai train blast case. Chaturvedi said that the government did not present a serious argument to the Bombay High Court, which led to the acquittal of the 12 accused, instead of the death penalty.
The UBT leader also called for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to appeal the decision, and present a foolproof argument for punishing the perpetrators and giving the victims justice.
"This is very sad, instead of giving them the death penalty, they have been acquitted. This shows that the case we presented was not foolproof, it had loopholes; I believe this is the fault of the state government. The state government did not take it seriously and present a serious argument, which is why this decision has come," Chaturvedi told ANI on Monday.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) MP has said that the acquittal is like putting salt on the wounds of the people who suffered from the 2006 blasts, and called for CM Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister, to challenge the HC verdict.
"So many people have been waiting for justice since 2006. So many people died. They were hoping for closure and justice, but that hope has been broken now, it is like putting salt on the wound. I hope that Maharashtra's Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Chief Minister, will challenge this Court verdict and put forward a foolproof case so the perpetrators get the death penalty," she added.
Earlier on Monday, Ramesh Naik, who lost his daughter in the 2006 Mumbai blasts, questioned the 19 year wait of getting the verdict, citing the comparatively swift decisions on the 2002 and 2008 blast Mumbai cases.
"I had a question for the government: why did it take 19 years? 19 years for what purpose? What was the matter that caused it to take 19 years before reaching a decision? After a bomb blast happened in 2002, another incident occurred in 2008, and for that, Kasab and others were hanged quickly. However, these terrorists, who were kept in jail for 19 years, have now been acquitted. If not them, then who caused the bomb blast on the train? It seems like a joke; the court's decision appears to be a joke", the father said.
The Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 people who had been convicted by the trial court for their alleged role in the 2006 Mumbai Train blasts.
This important verdict came after 19 years. A special bench of the Bombay High Court ruled that the evidence relied on by the prosecution was not conclusive to convict the accused persons. The court then ordered the immediate release of all the accused.
On the evening of July 11, 2006, multiple bomb blasts took place at seven different places in the Mumbai local train within just 11 minutes. In this incident, 189 people lost their lives in the blast, while more than 827 passengers were injured.
The bombs were placed in first-class compartments of trains from Churchgate. They exploded near the stations of Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar and Borivali. A trial court in 2015 convicted 12 people in the case. (ANI)