17 years after Malegaon blast, verdict likely today

The trial in a special NIA court started in 2018, 10 years after the blast, before concluding in April

- HT Correspondent

Nearly 17 years after a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded in a crowded junction in the city of Malegaon in Nashik district, killing six people and injuring 101 others, a special court for cases under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely to pronounce its verdict in the case on Thursday.

This was the first terror attack in the country in which a group of alleged Hindu extremists, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur (55) and a serving army officer, Lt Col Prasad Purohit (53), were prosecuted. The blast took place on September 29, 2008, during the month of Ramadan, in a Muslim-dominated area in Malegaon.

The trial, which started in 2018, concluded in April 2025. In its final arguments, the NIA had submitted that the blast in Malegaon, a town with a sizeable Muslim population, was orchestrated to terrorise a section of the Muslim community, disrupt essential services, create communal tensions, and threaten the state’s internal security. The charges comprised various sections under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code related to terrorism, criminal conspiracy, murder, and promoting enmity between religious groups.

ATS investigation