Seven individuals, including former BJP MP Pragya Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, stood trial under charges framed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code. The other accused are Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni
The 2008 Malegaon blast case was initially probed by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the NIA in 2011. FILE PIC
Nearly 17 years after a blast in Malegaon claimed six lives and injured over 100 people, a special NIA court is expected to pronounce its verdict in the case on Thursday, news agency PTI reported.
Seven individuals, including former BJP MP Pragya Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, stood trial under charges framed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code. The other accused are Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which led the probe, has called for appropriate punishment for the accused. The trial began in 2018 and concluded on April 19, 2025. The judgment was then reserved.
Six people were killed and more than 100 were injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in the town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008.
In its final argument, the NIA submitted that the blast in Malegaon, a town with a sizable Muslim population, was orchestrated by the conspirators to terrorise a section of the Muslim community, disrupt essential services, create communal tensions, and threaten the state's internal security, as per the news agency PTI.
The NIA has said that based on "relevant, admissible, cogent, trustworthy, wholly reliable and proved evidence", it "conclusively and cogently" established the crucial circumstances to form a complete chain of events.
It was established that the accused were "directly involved in the part of a larger conspiracy hatched amongst themselves and were instrumental in causing a bomb explosion," the prosecution contended, reported PTI.
The blast took place during the holy month of Ramzan, just before the Navratri festival, the NIA pointed out, claiming the intention of the accused was to strike terror in a section of the Muslim community.
The case was initially probed by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the NIA in 2011.
The trial in the case began in 2018 after the court framed charges against the seven accused.
The charges comprised UAPA sections 16 (committing terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist act) and various IPC sections, including 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 153 (a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups).
During the trial, the prosecution presented 323 witnesses, of whom 37 turned hostile.
Thakur, in her final statement, submitted that her implication in the case is "totally illegal, bad in law and contrary to the law of the land and with malafide intention and ulterior motive".
Citing the testimony of Mohan Kulkarni, an ATS officer who was part of the probe, Thakur claimed his statement "clearly shows she is an innocent person".
Further referring to the officer's testimony, the BJP leader alleged she has been "implicated in this case by manipulating evidence with a prejudiced mind as it was pre-decided to implicate her", reported news agency PTI.
Purohit has submitted that "there is no material evidence" linking him to the alleged offence.
"The prosecution's case rests on fabricated and contradictory witness statements that are devoid of any independent corroboration and fail to meet the evidentiary threshold required in law," his final arguments claimed.
He alleged the investigation was "tainted by serious procedural irregularities and a complete disregard for standard legal protocols".
"These lapses not only vitiate the fairness of the proceedings but also render the prosecution's case wholly speculative and unreliable," he added, reported PTI.
The other accused, too, has made similar submissions.
The intervenor, representing the victims' side, contended that the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case "is a classic example where the defence lacks a reasoned argument".
"Some of the accused claim the bombing never happened, while others blame it on SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India).
Each of the seven accused has advanced different and often conflicting defences which are contrary to each other's claim, which itself strengthens the case of prosecution," the victims said in their final submission.
The present prosecuting agency, NIA, has established beyond a reasonable doubt the involvement of all the accused in the bomb blast, as they submitted.
(With PTI inputs)
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