Malegaon verdict: No Pragya Thakur link to bike proved, court says ‘she became a sanyasi two years before blast’

Prosecution could not prove that the bike allegedly used in crime was in Pragya Thakur’s possession immediately before the blast, court said

A motorcycle was cited as one of the key evidences by investigators in the Malegaon blast case of 2008, and its registration in the name of former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur was presented as the key to the whole alleged plot.

Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur was one of the accused in the 2008 terror case, which fell flat 17 years later. (HT File)

But the court on Thursday did not find merit in the link or the allegation — a major factor in the acquittal of all seven accused, including Pragya Singh Thakur, a Hindu religious preacher popularly known as Sadhvi Pragya.

She had “become a sanyasi two years before the blast”, the judge said, adding, “She had distanced herself from material possessions.”

Judge AK Lahoti of the special NIA court in Mumbai, pronouncing the verdict, 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.

‘I was living sage’s life'

Pragya Thakur reacted by saying, “I said this from the very beginning that those who are called for investigation… there should be a basis behind that. I was called for investigation and was arrested and tortured. This ruined my whole life.”

She added, “I was living a sage’s life, but I was made an accused... I am alive because I am a sanyasi.”

She said those who accused her had “defamed the bhagwa (saffron) through a conspiracy".

"Today, bhagwa has won, and Hindutva has won,” she said.