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Malegaon blast victims angry at Pragya Thakur, salute ‘Karkare saab’
Survivors and victims’ kin question Thakur getting ticket to contest polls, demand justice
Shaikh Mohemmed Mubin recalls being “shattered” upon hearing the news. “I was at work when I learned of it from a mobile message and thought if we would ever get justice in the case,” says Mubin, who had to undergo 12 surgeries on his left leg for more than a year at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital after the 2008 Malegaon blast. He was referring to the announcement that Pragya Singh Thakur, accused in the Malegaon blast case, was contesting the Lok Sabha election on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from Bhopal.
Like Mubin, there is anger among victims and family members of the victims of the blast that took place here on September 29, 2008.
The anger is both over Thakur’s candidature as well as her comments on former Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, who Thakur said was killed after she had cursed him. While Thakur later apologised and took back her remark, anger remains among the community members.
The residents have renamed a chowk next to the blast site after Karkare, who was martyred while fighting terrorists during the 26/11 attacks.
“We hold a programme every year in the memory of Karkare saab on his death anniversary. We held a meeting to pay homage to his wife Kavita Karkare when she died. It was only because of him, that the real culprits in the blast case were booked,” said Abdul Rauf, a resident.
“I got the first shock when Thakur was given bail (in April 2017),” said Mubin. “I felt very bad as justice was not done to the families of people who died and those injured. We are poor people who struggle to win bread and butter by doing sundry jobs. We do not expect much, but only justice.”
A few hundred metres away from Mubin’s residence in Islampura and not far from the blast site, lives 59-year old Nisar Ahmed Sayyed Bilal. Bilal, who lost his 20-year-old son in the blast, has filed a petition in the special court hearing the blast case in Mumbai against Thakur’s candidature.
“When she was granted bail on health grounds and pretending that she was not able to move without support, how can she contest election and do campaigning?” said Bilal.
“I am deeply pained that in the last five years the case has taken a different turn. Her candidature will further disturb the social fabric of the country.”
Dr Akhlaque Ansari,who runs a clinic in Abdullah Nagar, has helped many victims appear in court and get government compensation. A member of Jamiat-e-Ulema, he alleged that the BJP and Thakur were trying to gain political sympathy through false statements against Karkare. “The allegations against Karkare saab are baseless. Terrorists have no religion and police officers are not expected to treat them like an ordinary man. After allegations against the officer, Thakur claimed that she is getting support from the Muslim community. These are gimmicks to garner votes,” he said.
Thakur was announced as a candidate from Bhopal by the BJP and is pitted against Congress’s Digvijay Singh.
