Nanded court finds CBI, ATS untrustworthy, acquits RSS members in 2006 blast case

Nine right-wing members associated with the RSS, VHP, and Bajrang Dal have been exonerated from a terror case after a sessions court in Maharashtra’s Nanded found flaws in the prosecution's arguments, stating that the investigating agencies, including the ATS and CBI, had created a story against the men for the 2006 blast.

The court found that the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and later the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) failed to provide credible evidence linking the accused to a bomb blast, instead suggesting that the explosion was caused by negligent storage of firecrackers, The Indian Express reported.

The blast occurred on April 6, 2006, at a residence in Nanded, resulting in two fatalities. The prosecution claimed that the accused had ties to right-wing Hindutva groups, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and Bajrang Dal, alleging they were preparing explosives to incite communal tension. However, the accused maintained that the explosion was accidental, stemming from improperly stored firecrackers.

The court's ruling highlighted significant inconsistencies in the prosecution's case. It noted that the evidence pointed to the recovery of firecracker boxes from the site rather than a live bomb. The First Information Report (FIR) also indicated that the explosion resulted from negligent handling of firecrackers, contradicting the prosecution's bomb blast theory.

A crucial element of the prosecution's argument was the alleged recovery of a live bomb from a rexine bag at the scene. The court questioned this claim, pointing out that the bag was inexplicably neither burnt nor wet despite the fire and water used to extinguish it. The court found this aspect of the prosecution's case unconvincing and detrimental to their argument of a bomb explosion.

The court also examined the evidence of metal splinters found in the bodies of the deceased, Himanshu Panse and Naresh Rajkondwar. It concluded that there was no concrete proof linking the splinters to a bomb, further weakening the prosecution's case.

Moreover, the court criticized the reliability of prosecution witnesses, including police officials, describing their testimonies as untrustworthy. It also noted that none of the eight independent witnesses, who were supposedly present during the recovery of evidence, supported the prosecution's claims.

The chargesheet filed by the prosecution linked the accused to 'Hindu extremist organisations.' However, the court observed that no evidence was provided to prove that these organisations were designated as terrorist groups by the central government at the time. The court ruled that possession of literature or communication related to these groups did not constitute a conspiracy.

This case is one of three involving alleged members of Hindutva groups in explosions between 2004 and 2006, including incidents in Jalna and Parbhani. The accused in the Jalna and Parbhani cases were acquitted in 2013 and 2018, respectively.

In 2022, a former RSS worker, Yashwant Shinde, sought to testify in the Nanded case, claiming that three men, including a senior VHP leader, were the main conspirators. He alleged that he attended a training camp in Pune. The court rejected his plea, questioning his long delay in coming forward. His appeal is pending in the Bombay High Court.

The Nanded court delivered its final judgment on January 4, 2025, emphasizing that no stay was placed on the trial, thereby allowing it to conclude.