Pragya Thakur, Former BJP MP acquitted in 2008 Malegaon Blast case | All you need to know

Six people were killed and around 100 were injured on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device detonated near a mosque in Malegaon city in Maharashtra.

In a major development, former BJP MP MP Pragya Singh Thakur was among all seven accused acquitted by a special NIA court in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, in Mumbai on Thursday. Six people were killed and around 100 were injured on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device detonated near a mosque in Malegaon city in Maharashtra.

Judge AK Lahoti pronounced the verdict and said the prosecution indeed proved that a blast occurred in Malegaon, but failed to prove that a 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.

About the probe, the court said, “No sketch of the spot was done by the investigation officer while doing the panchnama. No fingerprint, dump data or anything else was collected for the spot. The samples were contaminated, so the reports can’t be conclusive and are not reliable.”

WHO IS PRAGYA SINGH THAKUR?

• Pragya Singh Thakur alias Swami Purna Chetananand Giri (55) was the accused number 1 in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
• Pragya Singh Thakur is the resident of Madhya Pradesh and was an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)
• She was the first individual whom the ATS arrested in connection with the bombing.
• On 21 November 2019, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was made a part of the 21-member parliamentary consultative committee on defence, which is headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
• After her comment in parliament, where she called Nathuram Godse (Gandhi’s assassin) a patriot, she was criticised by opposition party members.
• On 28 November, she was sacked from the committee on defence as well as BJP parliamentary party meetings.