Seventeen years after a powerful blast rocked Malegaon in Maharashtra, a court acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, on Thursday.
Special Judge AK Lahoti said mere suspicion cannot take the case forward and asserted that the prosecution failed to establish the allegations against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
“There has been a grave incident against society. But the court cannot convict just on moral grounds,” the judge said, bringing closure to a case that saw the arrest of individuals linked to Hindu right-wing groups. It had given rise to the controversial phrase “Hindu terror”.
Apart from Pragya Thakur and Purohit, the others who have been acquitted are Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi alias Shankaracharya, and Sameer Kulkarni.
Six people were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle (LML Freedom bike) went off in Malegaon, a town with a sizeable Muslim population, on September 29, 2008. The blast took place during the holy month of Ramzan.
The case was initially probed by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the NIA in 2011. The ATS had alleged that the blast was part of a conspiracy involving the group Abhinav Bharat.
The ATS had claimed that Pragya Thakur, who was arrested in 2008, was the owner of the motorcycle used in the blast.
It also claimed that Lt Col Purohit, then an Army officer posted in military intelligence, helped arrange explosives and was part of meetings with Abhinav Bharat.
On Thursday, the court said there was no evidence on record that Purohit brought RDX and assembled the bomb. Judge Lahoti also said there was no cogent evidence that Pragya Thakur was the owner of the vehicle.
“The proper identification of the chassis number of the vehicle was wiped and never restored,” the court said.
The court also exonerated Abhinav Bharat, saying there is no evidence that the group was involved in any “terror activity”.
“There is no evidence that Abhinav Bharat was used for terror activity. Material witnesses have not supported the prosecution case. The prosecution has been unsuccessful in proving meetings took place (for conspiracy),” the court further said.
👉 Click here to read the latest Gujarat news on TheLiveAhmedabad.com