February 20, 2026 09:17 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
PM Modi warns ‘AI must not control humans’ as India unveils bold tech vision at AI Impact Summit 2026 | Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sentenced to life over failed martial law bid | Tata Group joins hands with OpenAI in massive AI push to transform India and global industries | Epstein Files row: Bill Gates to skip keynote address at AI Summit 2026 | AI Impact Summit: Google launches game-changing America-India Connect plan with $15 billion backing | AI takes centre stage as Modi meets Google CEO Sundar Pichai in Delhi | G7 Spotlight: Emmanuel Macron invites Narendra Modi for 2026 Summit | AI Summit embarrassment! Galgotias University asked to vacate stall after ‘own robot’ exposed as China’s Unitree Go2 | Actor Rajpal Yadav granted interim bail in ₹9-crore cheque bounce case | Learn AI or become redundant: Microsoft India President issues stark message
Malegaon Blast
Pragya Singh Thakur. Photo: Pragya Thakur/X

Former BJP MP Pragya Thakur, Col Purohit, all other accused acquitted in Malegaon blast case

| @indiablooms | Jul 31, 2025, at 11:50 am

Mumbai/IBNS: All seven accused including former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pragya Thakur and ex-Army officer Lt. Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit have been acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, media reports said.

All were out on bail. 

The judgement has been passed by a special court 17 years after the blast killed six people and injured more than hundred.

Special judge AK Lahoti said the prosecution couldn't prove the allegations against the accused.

Justice Lahoti said the prosecution couldn't prove the motorcycle used in the blast belonged to Pragya Thakur. 

The accused have been given benefit of doubt by the judge.

The blast took place when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from here in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

The accused were facing charged under Unlawful Activities Prevention (Act) and various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC). 

They were charged with conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder, promoting enmity and voluntarily causing hurt, NDTV. 

'Hindus can never be terrorists': BJP 

Reacting to the judgement, BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya wrote on X, "The sinister conspiracy by the Congress to manufacture the bogey of ‘Saffron Terror’ has not just collapsed — it has been buried for good.

"Those like Sonia Gandhi, P. Chidambaram, and Sushilkumar Shinde, who led this malicious campaign, owe an unconditional apology to Hindus for maligning Sanatan Dharma. Sanatan is sacred. Hindus can never be terrorists."

Author Anand Ranganathan posted on Facebook, "They beat her till blood poured out. They pressed her to admit to saffron terror. She refused. They beat her more. She suffered brain-swelling and cancer. Today, 17 years later, Sadhvi Pragya is free. But those who tortured and framed her are also free. How is this justice?"

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.