JAIPUR: The BJP on Tuesday held protests in divisional headquarters towns of Rajasthan against the Congress government for acquitting four accused in the 2008 Jaipur serial bomb blast case which left 71 killed.
The BJP claims that due to the “appeasement politics” of the state government, the prosecution did not put up a strong case in the Rajasthan High Court which set aside the 2019 lower court order giving death sentences to 4 accused who have now been let off.
The BJP alleges that the acquittals have been a great shock for the victims who are still waiting for justice for the serial blasts that terrified people and rocked Rajasthan in 2008.
The saffron party alleges that the government failed to provide adequate representation in the High Court which led to the cancellation of the death sentence awarded to the accused by the lower court.
During the protests on Tuesday, the BJP once again accused the Gehlot government of favouritism and deliberate inaction. The party alleged that the government called a Supreme Court lawyer from Delhi when the issue of Congress MLAs' resignation arose but failed to take similar strong steps to punish the Jaipur bomb blast accused.
The BJP has been protesting against the Gehlot government in various ways since April 1, accusing them of appeasement politics that led to the acquittal of the accused. The party claims the Gehlot government intentionally weakened the case by not fielding prominent lawyers for strong lobbying.
In a media briefing, senior leader and former BJP state president Arun Chaturvedi revealed the government's weak lobbying in the case and also stated that the BJP would present its own lawyer in the Supreme Court on behalf of the victim's families, if needed, to ensure that the accused were punished.
The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday delivered a major verdict in the serial bomb blast case that occurred in Jaipur on May 13, 2008, and claimed 71 lives, while 185 were injured. The four accused had presented 28 appeals in the High Court, including an appeal to abolish the death sentence. The hearing on this entire case went on for 48 days.
The four accused were given capital punishment by a special court in 2019 which was challenged in the high court. The court’s acquittal came as a huge relief to the four men, namely Sarvar Azmi, Saifur Rahman, Mohammad Saif and Salman, who were previously convicted and sentenced to death. Besides the verdict, the court has also ordered a probe against the police while questioning the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for failing to provide credible evidence.
While delivering the verdict, the court said that the investigating officer did not have legal knowledge. Therefore, instructions have been given to the DGP to take action against the investigating officer as well. The court has also asked the Chief Secretary to conduct an inquiry on the investigating officers. The state government will appeal against this decision in the Supreme Court.
Clearly, politics in Rajasthan is heating up with the BJP accusing the Gehlot government of deliberately weakening the prosecution case, the acquittals in the Jaipur Bomb blast are set to become a major issue in the election-bound state.