VHP says acquittal of Nanded blast accused ‘tight slap’ on Congress

Sun Jan 05 08:31:45 UTC 2025: ## VHP Demands Congress Apology After Acquittal in 2006 Nanded Blast Case

**Mumbai, January 5, 2025** – The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has demanded a public apology from the Congress party following the acquittal of all nine surviving accused in the 2006 Nanded blast case. A Maharashtra sessions court on Saturday cleared the accused, prompting a strong reaction from the VHP.

VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal described the acquittal as a “tight slap” on the Congress’s face, claiming the party had attempted to falsely portray Hindus as terrorists. He cited the Malegaon blast case as further evidence of alleged Congress wrongdoing. Bansal asserted that the Congress and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had been exposed by the Nanded court’s decision after a 19-year investigation.

The blast, which occurred at the home of alleged RSS worker Laxman Rajkondwar, killed his son Naresh Rajkondwar and VHP activist Himanshu Panse. Investigators initially claimed the victims were assembling an explosive device. While the case was initially handled by the Maharashtra ATS, it was later transferred to the CBI.

Defense lawyer Nitin Runwal stated that the prosecution, despite examining 49 witnesses, failed to definitively prove the incident was a bomb blast rather than an accident involving a gas cylinder or other flammable material. The Congress party held power both at the national and state level at the time of the incident.