Malegaon Blast Case: 17 Years Later, Court Acquits All Seven Accused Including Pragya Thakur

Malegaon Blast Case: 17 years after the 2008 blast in Malegaon, Maharashtra, the special NIA court on Thursday gave a big verdict. All seven accused in the case have been acquitted. These include former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit. The court said that no one can be convicted on the basis of mere suspicion, and the prosecution failed to prove the allegations beyond doubt.

Special Judge AK Lahoti said, "A serious incident has taken place against the society. But the court cannot convict on moral grounds only." He further said that no concrete evidence has been presented against the accused to convict them.

Malegaon Blast Case 2008

On 29 September 2008, during the holy month of Ramzan, a motorcycle (LML Freedom Bike) was blasted with explosives in Malegaon. Six people were killed, and more than 100 were injured in the blast. Malegaon is a Muslim-dominated area, and the market was very crowded at that time.

Role of investigative agencies

Initially, the case was investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Later in 2011, the case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The NIA had alleged that the blast was part of a conspiracy by an organization named Abhinav Bharat.

The NIA had also claimed that the bike used in the blast belonged to Pragya Singh Thakur. But the court said that the prosecution could not prove that the bike was in the name of Sadhvi Pragya.

What did the court say?

The court said in clear words that no one can be convicted on the basis of suspicion. Special Judge AK Lahoti said, "Punishment cannot be given on moral grounds alone; solid evidence is necessary under the law."

List of seven accused acquitted

• Pragya Singh Thakur 
• Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit
• Sudhakar Chaturvedi
• Ajay Rahirkar
• Sameer Kulkarni
• Sudhakar Dwivedi
• Ramji Kalsangra