2008 Malegaon Blast Case: NIA Court Acquits All Seven Accused, Including Sadhvi Pragya and Lt Col Purohit

New Delhi – In a major verdict, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit.

The court dropped all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Arms Act, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), citing lack of sufficient evidence.

The blast occurred on September 29, 2008, when a bomb tied to a motorcycle exploded near Bhikku Chowk mosque in Malegaon, a communally sensitive town in Maharashtra’s Nashik district. The explosion, which took place during the holy month of Ramzan and just days before Navratri, killed six people and injured over 100.

The verdict comes after nearly 17 years of legal proceedings. All the accused were present in court as per earlier instructions. The court also ordered compensation: ?2 lakh to the families of each of the six deceased and ?50,000 to each injured victim.

The trial spanned years and involved over 1 lakh pages of case documents. Final hearings concluded in April this year, with the judgment reserved on April 19. Due to the complexity of the case, the court took additional time to examine all the evidence.

The prosecution examined 323 witnesses during the trial; however, 34 of them turned hostile, which significantly weakened the case.

Initially investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which arrested the accused and filed the original charge sheet, the case was handed over to the NIA in 2011.

In 2016, the NIA filed a supplementary charge sheet dropping charges against several of the accused, including Sadhvi Pragya, citing a lack of evidence under the stringent anti-terror laws.

All seven accused had been out on bail during the course of the trial. They were facing serious allegations including conspiracy, murder, and use of explosives under the UAPA and IPC.

With inputs from IANS