'Was forced to name PM Modi': Pragya Thakur alleges torture, coercion in custody after Malegaon blast acquittal; blames Congress for ‘conspiracy’
New Delhi: Days after a special NIA court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including her, former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur made explosive allegations, claiming she was tortured and coerced into naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, and others during the investigation, according to media reports.
"I have given everything in writing and named all those whom I was forced to name. They kept saying, ‘Name these people then we won’t beat you.’ Their main aim was to torture me," she said, reported India Today.
Thakur accused the then UPA government of fabricating the case to malign saffron groups and the armed forces.
“The Congress filed this false case as part of their conspiracy. It had no basis. Congress is anti-religion. It is a party that feeds terrorists. Congress can never become a nationalist party,” she said, calling the verdict a “victory for Dharma.”
She further alleged that she was denied adequate medical attention during custody.
“I wasn’t given proper medical care — only enough to somehow keep me going. That is why I am in this condition today. I have become completely weak from within,” she said, according to the India Today report.
On Thursday, the special NIA court in Mumbai acquitted all accused, including Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, saying the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Special Judge A.K. Lahoti observed that suspicion alone could not be the basis for conviction.
In a related development, former Maharashtra ATS officer Mehboob Mujawar told India Today TV that his superior, then ATS officer Param Bir Singh, had instructed him to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to bolster the narrative of ‘saffron terror’.
"I was directed by Param Bir Singh, and those above him asked me to arrest these individuals -- Ram Kalsangra, Sandip Dange, Dilip Patidar, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. It was beyond my capacity to arrest someone like Mohan Bhagwat, who holds significant influence in Maharashtra," Mujawar was quoted as saying by India Today.
Initially, the Maharashtra ATS had attributed the Malegaon blasts to SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India).
In 2011, the case was handed over to the NIA, which in 2013 filed a joint chargesheet with the ATS, naming eight alleged members of the Abhinav Bharat group.
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