NIA Court Acquits All 7 Accused in 2008 Malegaon Blast Case

National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the seven accused, including former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Colonel Prasad Purohit, in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case.

- SHASHIKANT SHARMA

The other accused who were acquitted by the NIA court are retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni.

They were acquitted of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Arms Act, and other relevant laws. The judgment comes after a long trial in the case that spanned nearly 17 years. After examining 323 prosecution witnesses and eight defense witnesses, the court reached its judgment that acquitted the accused of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act, and all other relevant laws.

The court also ordered the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) ADG to initiate a probe into the matter of planting explosives in the house of the accused Sudhakar Chaturvedi.

Delivering its verdict, the NIA court said that while the investigation proved that the blasts indeed occurred, the prosecution could not provide "cogent evidence" to prove the involvement of the accused.

The court observed in the verdict that the prosecution could not prove that explosives were stored and assembled at Colonel Purohit's residence and placed in the motorcycle that allegedly belonged to Pragya Thakur.