Malegaon blast verdict out, Pragya Singh Thakur among all 7 accused acquitted in 2008 case

Bike allegedly involved in blast did not have clear chassis number; probe did not prove it was in Pragya Thakur’s possession immediately before blast: NIA court

Updated on: Jul 31, 2025, 11:45:52 IST

By HT News Desk

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Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur was among all seven accused acquitted by a special NIA court in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, in Mumbai on Thursday.

Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur was alleged to be linked with a bike used in the blast; court says no proof of that. (HT File)

On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and around 100 were injured when an explosive device detonated near a mosque in Malegaon city in Maharashtra.

Live updates | Malegaon blast case verdict details

Also read | Who is Pragya Thakur? 5 things about former BJP MP

Judge AK Lahoti pronounced the verdict and said the prosecution failed to prove that the bomb was placed in that particular motorcycle, ANI reported.

"The bike allegedly involved in the blast did not have a clear chassis number. Prosecution could not prove that it was in (Pragya Thakur’s) possession immediately before the blast," the court further said.

Also read | What is Malegaon blast case? A 17-year-long probe

About the probe, the court said, “No sketch of the spot was done by the investigation officer while doing the panchnama. No fingerprint, dump data or anything else was collected for the spot. The samples were contaminated, so the reports can’t be conclusive and are not reliable."

“There is no evidence of storing or assembling the explosives in Shrikant Prasad Purohit's residence,” the court said, as per ANI, also acquitting Lt Colonel Purohit.

It added that anti-terror law UAPA could not be invoked in this case as “sanction was not taken as per rules”.

"Both the sanction orders of the UAPA in the case are defective," said the court.

The court came to the conclusion that the injured people were not 101 but 95 only, and there was manipulation in some medical certificates too.

The case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011 from the Maharashtra ATS.

All of the accused were currently out on bail.

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