‘How did my son die if nobody planned the blasts?’: 19 years on, Malegaon victims are still waiting for justice | Mumbai News
4 min readMumbaiApr 23, 2026 07:00 AM IST
In the photo on the Chinese visa that came two days after he was killed in the 2006 Malegaon blast, Sajid looks grave. All of 18, he looks steadily into the camera — a man on a mission.
Sajid was to leave for China to study medicine in 10 days. But those dreams were cut short when he, along with his 17-year-old cousin Shahbaz, was killed as bombs tore through Malegaon on September 8, 2006 — among the 31 killed. Over 300 people were injured in the attack, which occurred after Friday prayers.
“Ummeed khatam ho gayi (We lost hope),” his 59-year-old father, Shafique Ahmed Mohammed Salim, who owns a chemist shop not far from the blast site, tells The Indian Express. “His bags were packed, all preparations done. The visa-stamped passport came two days after his death, rendered useless.”
On Wednesday – nearly two decades after the Malegaon blast — the Bombay High Court quashed a special court order that had framed charges against the four men who were the last remaining accused in the case. The decision came on appeals filed against the trial court’s move to frame charges against Manohar Narwaria, Rajendra Chaudhary, Dhan Singh, and Lokesh Sharma on September 30, 2025, for murder and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, paving the way for trial.
For victims of the blast — such as Shafique’s family —the development deals yet another blow to their already shaken faith. This follows the discharge of nine others in 2016 – meaning that even after nearly 20 years, there are no clear answers in the case.
Sajid and Shahbaz were on their way to visit their grandfather’s grave in the Bada Kabrastan with Shafique when one of the blasts occurred around 1.50 pm. Shafique too was wounded, but survived.
In 2021, he filed an intervention plea before the trial court, seeking to be heard. The plea was partly allowed.
Story continues below this ad
But with the HC now discharging all four suspects, Shafique questions the prolonged legal proceedings. “My son was walking with me that day. If nobody caused the blasts, how did he and the 30 others die?” Shafique asked. “How is it that the culprits of such a big incident are not brought to book, even after 20 years? First, another group of persons were arrested. Then, a new agency said these men were responsible. Now, they too are cleared of the charges. What message does this give to those involved in terror cases?”
The blast spot at Mushawarat chowk at Malegoan. (Express photo by: Prashant Nadkar/File)
It is a question that haunts 54-year-old paan shop owner Mohammed Arif, who lost his eight-year-old son, Aamir, in the blast. Aamir was playing with neighbourhood children at the time; three of them lost their lives.
Aamir lived in Mumbai with his aunt and was only visiting when he died. “He had come back to Malegaon only a night before. He studied in a school in Mumbai. I wish he had not been visiting.”
After the HC ruling, Arif has but one question: “Will justice ever be done? We have to accept what the court has said, but how and where do we seek justice now?”
Story continues below this ad
The Bombay HC ruling comes a year after seven people — including former MP Pragya Thakur — were acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case that killed six people and injured 100. Reading its order in July last year, a special court in Mumbai observed that there was strong suspicion but not enough evidence to convict them.
For the town, the order means that neither the 2006 nor the 2008 blast cases have seen any perpetrators convicted. Victims and their representatives hope the latest order will be appealed. “The ATS had immediately filed an appeal when the nine men were discharged in 2016. We hope that the government will appeal against this order too,” said advocate Hamdani Irfana, who represented the victims through legal aid NGO Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind.
