Mumbai: After 17 years of the 2008 Malegaon blast, the special NIA court is set to deliver its verdict today, which involves former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit among the key accused. This follows nearly 17 years after the motorcycle-borne bomb detonated in a crowded area of Malegaon, a city in Nashik, esulting in six fatalities and injuring 101 individuals.
The incident stands out as India's first terror attack attributed to alleged Hindu extremists, targeting a Muslim-dominated locality during Ramadan, specifically before the Hindu Navratri festival, thereby raising concerns of communal discord.
Initially handled by the local police, the investigation was taken over by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). The ATS determined that an improvised explosive device (IED) was affixed to a motorcycle with a forged registration number, and after forensic analysis, it was traced back to Pragya Singh Thakur, who was arrested on October 23, 2008.
Following her arrest, a total of 11 individuals, including Col Purohit, were apprehended. The accused were reportedly part of a group named Abhinav Bharat and faced charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), with the ATS alleging that they committed the blast in retaliation against prior terrorist acts by Muslims.
In 2011, the case was reassigned to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). As the NIA pursued its inquiry, the accused contested the legitimacy of the MCOCA charges imposed by the ATS. A supplementary charge sheet filed by the NIA in 2016 referred to significant flaws in the evidence collected by the ATS, leading to the withdrawal of MCOCA charges. The NIA argued that while the motorcycle belonged to Thakur, it had been used by Ramchandra Kalsangra, another accused who had evaded arrest. Moreover, the NIA indicated that the case heavily relied on confessions obtained hastily by the ATS.
The NIA took a stance for dismissing Pragya Thakur as an accused. However, the court found it challenging to accept her claim of non-involvement in the incident. Although the court agreed to drop MCOCA charges, it decided that seven accused, Prasad Purohit, Sadhiv Thakur, Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Sudhakar Onkarnath Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, and Sudhakar Dwivedi, would face trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Indian Penal Code (IPC), while discharging others due to insufficient evidence. Additionally, two accused were subjected to trial solely under the Arms Act.
The trial commenced in 2018 and concluded on April 19, 2025, with charges encompassing various sections of the UAPA and IPC, emphasizing acts of terrorism, conspiracy, and communal incitement. The NIA contended that the act was strategically aimed at instilling fear within the Muslim community and disrupting social harmony, posing a threat to state security. As the court prepares for the final ruling, the case underscores significant intercommunal tensions and the complexities of terrorism investigations in India.
