Panaji: Goa Bench of Bombay High Court on Saturday upheld the order of Special Court acquitting all the accused chargesheeted by National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a bomb blast reported in Margao town in the year 2009.
The followers of Right Wing Hindu group were alleged to have links with the blast in the chargesheet filed by the NIA. The bomb had triggered in a dickey of a scooter on October 16, 2009 on the eve of Diwali in Margao town, killing two persons – Malgonda Patil and Yogesh Naik, who were allegedly ferrying the explosives to the site.
NIA counsel Advocate Pravin Faldesai told reporters in Panaji on Saturday that accused Vinay Talekar, Dhananjay Ashtekar, Prashant Ashtekar, Vinayak Patil, Prashant Juvekar and Dilip Mazgaonkar were acquitted by the High Court bench comprising of Justice M S Sonak and Justice M S Jawalkar, giving them the benefit of doubt.
The Special Court in the year 2013 had acquitted all the accused, the order of which was challenged by the NIA in the High Court.
Faldesai said that on Saturday, the HC passed a judgment on an NIA appeal against the acquittal order passed by a Special Judge in the blast case.
“The High Court considered the appeal in larger detail and held that the accused be given the benefit of the doubt,” he said.
Faldesai said that the High Court, however, expunged the statement in the verdict of the Special court which had said that the NIA investigation was with malafide intention.
Goa Police had initially investigated the case, which was later transferred to the NIA.
The chargesheet had named eleven accused, including both the deceased for hatching a conspiracy against the state.
