2006 Malegaon bombings

The 2006 Malegaon bombings were a series of bomb blasts that took place on 8 September 2006 in Malegaon, a town in the Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra,

Quotes

• On 8 September 2006, three bombs went off at Hamidia Mosque complex, Bada Kabrastan and Mushawarat Chowk of Malegaon town. Another ‘fake bomb’ was recovered from the staircase of the Mohammedan Mosque on 13 September 2006, which did not explode and was defused by bomb detection officials.
• By the time the Mumbai ATS took over the investigation on 23 October 2006, the police had arrested nine SIMI activists on grounds of suspicion. The ATS confirmed their links with SIMI and found their involvement in inciting Muslim youth against the state. Two of these terrorists had even learnt bomb-making techniques in Pakistan. Apparently, the purpose of these blasts was to trigger communal riots in this sensitive region.
  • Tiwari, D. P., (2019). The great indian conspiracy. London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.

• However, Hemant Karkare’s advent as ATS chief gave a defining twist to the story. Now, Col. Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh were claimed to be the chief conspirators. The whole narrative of this blast now revolved around these two characters. However, their names did not even figure in the first chargesheet. There are questions galore on how the facts were fudged and the real culprits went scot-free. But, we need to ask who stood to gain from this change of track in the investigation. The answer was made easier by leaders like Digvijay Singh, who flaunted allegations against Hindu groups as political groups. There was an increasing possibility of a ban on the RSS.
  • Tiwari, D. P., (2019). The great indian conspiracy. London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.

• In the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai train attacks came the Malegaon incidents in September of the same year. Original information received from the State police was that it was the handiwork of an extremely orthodox Islamic group known as Ahl-e-Hadith (known in India as the Ahl-e-Hadees). This was the first time I had heard of such a sub group within Islamic society. This group is said to live by the edicts of Islam and by the shariat law. They are committed to the establishment of Islamic order and Islamic state in India and the world over. I do not know whether the present ISIS is an extension of this Ahl-e-Hadith. The preliminary inquiry by the local police had concluded that Malegaon was the work of Ahl-e-Hadith.
  • Mani, R. V. S. (2018). The myth of Hindu terror: Insider account of Ministry of Home Affairs 2006-2010.