Malegaon Blast: All Accused Acquitted

Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, marking the end of a nearly 17-year-long trial. The blast, which occurred on September 29, 2008, killed six people and injured 95. Special Judge A.K. Lahoti ruled that the prosecution failed to produce “cogent evidence” to establish the guilt of the accused, who included former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit.

The court held that the motorcycle allegedly used in the blast could not be conclusively linked to Thakur, noting that the chassis number had been tampered with and that she had renounced material possessions at least two years prior to the incident.

The judge emphasised that “terrorism has no religion” and that convictions cannot be based on perceptions. He described the prosecution’s case as riddled with inconsistencies and raised concerns about a contaminated crime scene due to improper barricading. “Upon comprehensive evaluation, the prosecution has failed to bring any cogent evidence and the evidence is riddled with inconsistencies,” judge Lahoti said,

Further questioning the investigation, the court held that the crime scene was contaminated as it was not properly barricaded after the blast.

Regarding Lt. Col. Purohit, the court found no evidence that he sourced RDX from Kashmir or assembled the bomb. Although financial transactions between Purohit and co-accused Ajay Rahirkar were acknowledged, the funds were used for personal purposes, including home construction and insurance, rather than for any terrorist activity, the judge said.

The court accepted that six people were killed in the blast but rejected the prosecution's claim that 101 people were injured. The court accepted injury to 95 persons as few of the medical certificates submitted to the court were manipulated. Compensation of Rs 2 lakh was ordered for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for each of the injured.

The explosion occurred on September 29, 2008, at a Chowk in Malegaon. Initially investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the case saw the arrest of 12 individuals, including Thakur, Purohit, and others allegedly linked to the group Abhinav Bharat. The ATS had invoked provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

In 2010, the investigation was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which filed a supplementary chargesheet in 2016, recommending that MCOCA charges be dropped and citing insufficient evidence against some accused. In 2017, the court ruled that seven accused would stand trial under the IPC, UAPA, and Explosive Substances Act. Three were discharged due to lack of evidence, and two others—Rakesh Dhawde and Jagdish Mhatre—were directed to face trial under the Arms Act in separate proceedings.

After the court verdict, Pragya Singh said she was arrested without any basis and tortured. This ruined my whole life, she said.

“I was living a sage’s life, but I was made an accused, and no one was willing to stand beside us. I am alive because I am a Sanyasi. They defamed bhagwa (saffron) through a conspiracy. Today, bhagwa has won, and Hindutva has won, and God will punish those who are guilty,” the former BJP MP told the court.

Purohit said he was implicated in the case. “No investigating agency is wrong; it is the people serving in these agencies who are wrong. This nation is great. We must take care that wrong people do not rise and make people like us suffer,” he said.

Purohit, who was reinstated in the Army pending trial, said he would continue serving the organisation and the nation with the same vigor.