July 31, 2025

On Thursday, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court announced the acquittal of seven individuals charged in the September 2008 Malegaon blast case, including former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. This incident, which occurred near a mosque in Malegaon, a town approximately 200 km from Mumbai, resulted in six fatalities and nearly a hundred injuries. The accused also included five others: retired Army officer Ramesh Shivaji Upadhyay, Pune businessman Samir Sharad Kulkarni, and Purohit’s associates Ajay Eknath Rahirkar, Sudhakar Omkarnath Chaturvedi, and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi. All were implicated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Special Judge AK Lahoti stated that the evidence presented was not credible enough to support a conviction, asserting that the accused should be given the benefit of doubt. The events unfolded on the evening of September 29, 2008, when a powerful bomb exploded in Malegaon. With scrutiny from the state government, control of the investigation was handed over to the ATS shortly after. It was then that Pragya Thakur was arrested; law enforcement linked a motorcycle utilized in the blast to her. According to the ATS, the explosion was orchestrated by an extremist group led by Purohit and Thakur, fueled by motives against the Muslim community. The charges claimed that in April 2008, during a meeting in Bhopal, Purohit suggested retaliatory action against the Muslim community, leading Thakur to claim involvement by offering to help organize the blast. The investigation resulted in the arrest of 11 suspects in January 2009, with strong implications regarding planning and execution under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). A significant turning point occurred in April 2011 when the investigation transitioned to the NIA, aimed at providing a more thorough examination. By May 2016, the NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet, indicating virtually no evidence connecting Thakur to the actual bomb blast, further asserting that the motorcycle was previously with an absconding suspect. Critically, the NIA invalidated the anti-terror charges initially levered by the ATS as improperly applied. The NIA characterized the ATS's investigative approach as flawed and filled with inconsistencies. Specific confessions cited in the ATS’s findings were deemed to have likely been coerced, raising more doubts about the validity of the entire case. In December 2017, the NIA court mitigated certain charges but kept others active against members of the accused group. Despite the continuing trial, Thakur secured bail and participated in the 2019 general elections as a BJP candidate, successfully winning the Bhopal constituency. The recent court ruling is a significant moment in a case that has stirred political and social discourse across India, reflecting on the complex interplay between terror accusations and political affiliations.

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Tags: Malegaon blast, Pragya thakur, Nia court, Acquittal, Terrorism,