New Delhi

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ravi Kishan on Thursday reacted strongly to the acquittal of all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, criticising the Congress for what he described as the politically motivated use of the term "Bhagwa Terrorism" and demanding accountability in Parliament.

Speaking to ANI, Kishan said, "We don't know whether to be happy or sad. My sister Sadhvi Pragya used to sit next to me in the Parliament. Her entire body is paralysed. What must the accused and their families have gone through who faced the false allegations... Who will return those 17 years? The Congress that coined the term Bhagwa Terrorism must answer. They are all accountable."

He added, "They have to answer 100 crore Hindus with what proof they started speaking of Bhagwa terrorism. Who was the mastermind behind this narrative? The Home Minister said it yesterday, and it is proven today that a Hindu cannot be a terrorist. We will demand an answer in the Parliament on the term 'Bhagwa Terrorism'."

Earlier in the day, Mumbai's NIA special court acquitted all seven accused of being involved in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, with the court saying that the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The NIA court has also ordered the Maharashtra government to award Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of the victims and Rs 50,000 compensation to the injured.

A total of 7 people were accused, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni.

'All bail bonds of the accused are cancelled and sureties are discharged," the NIA special court said.

The court had examined 323 prosecution witnesses and 8 defence witnesses before pronouncing the verdict. The 7 people have been acquitted of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms act and all other charges.

"Prosecution proved that a blast occurred in Malegaon but failed to prove that bomb was placed in that motorcycle," the Judge Abhay Lohati said.

The court also mentioned that there was some manipulation of medical certificates. "Court has come to a conclusion that injured people were not 101 but 95 only and there was manipulation. In some medical certificates," the court said.

The court also said that there is no evidence of storing or assembling the explosives in Prasad Purohit's residence, who was another accused in the case.

"No sketch of spot was done by the investigation officer while doing panchnama. No finger print, dump data or anything else was collected for the spot. The samples were contaminated so reports can't be conclusive and relied upon," the court said.

On the alleged role on Abhinav Bharat organisation, the court said that there was no evidence of the funds of the organisation being used for terror activities.

Meanwhile, Advocate Shahid Nadeem, representing the victim families of the 2008 Malegaon blast, said that he will challenge the acquittal of the seven accused in the High Court soon.

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On September 29 2008, six people were killed and 95 others injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque in Malegaon City's Bhikku Chowk. Originally, 11 people were accused in the case; however, the court ultimately framed charges against 7, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya.