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‘Justice got killed:’ What 2006 Mumbai train blasts survivor said on Bombay HC acquitting all 12 accused
The Bombay high court’s special bench on Monday acquitted all 12 men previously convicted in connection with the 2006 Mumbai train blasts that killed over 180.
Nearly two decades after a series of coordinated bomb blasts tore through Mumbai’s suburban train network, a survivor of the 2006 tragedy, Chirag Chauhan, expressed dismay over the acquittal of all 12 accused by the Bombay high court on Monday, saying, "Justice got killed."
Now 40, Chirag Chauhan was a 21-year-old chartered accountancy student when a bomb exploded between Khar and Santacruz stations on July 11, 2006.
The blast left him with a spinal cord injury and confined to a wheelchair. Today, he is a practicing chartered accountant and a vocal voice for blast victims.
‘Justice got killed’
Taking to social media platform hours after the verdict, Chauhan shared his anguish over the acquittal. "Today is a very sad day for everyone! Justice got killed!! No one got punished for the irreparable damage and pain suffered by thousands of families!!"
"The law of the land failed today," adding that justice could have been possible if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been at the helm at the time of the attack. "I wish we had Shri Narendra Modi at the time as our PM, we could have got justice like in the recent terror attack. Bharat went inside Pakistan and gave a befitting reply to terrorists & all perpetrators!" he wrote, referencing the May military operation dubbed 'Operation Sindoor'" Chauhan said in his sharply worded post.
Chauhan, who had posted a reflective message on the 19th anniversary of the blasts earlier this month, recalled rebuilding his life after the attack. "I cleared the CA final in 2009, just three years after the blasts. Initially I could only sit for a few hours, but after physiotherapy I managed to sit for 8 hrs, then 12 hrs, and now I can sit for 16 hrs," he wrote.
Bombay high court verdict
The Bombay high court’s special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak delivered a scathing verdict, acquitting all 12 men previously convicted in connection with the serial blasts that killed over 180 and injured hundreds. The court said the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove its case, adding it was “hard to believe the accused committed the crime”.
In a major blow to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which led the investigation, the court ruled that confessional statements had been obtained through torture and were inadmissible. It also noted the prosecution failed to conclusively establish even the type of explosives used.
The accused were alleged to be members of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and were said to have conspired with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives. But the court concluded the evidence was insufficient and the investigation flawed.
The acquittal has reignited questions over the handling of one of India’s deadliest terror cases and left survivors like Chauhan devastated. “No one got punished for the irreparable damage and pain,” he reiterated — a sentiment that now echoes across social media and among the families of the victims still waiting for justice.
