‘Endured Humiliation’: Pragya Thakur Breaks Down After Malegaon Verdict
BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur broke down in a special NIA court on Thursday after being acquitted along with six others in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Addressing the judge, she spoke of the emotional toll of the prolonged legal battle, stating she had “endured years of humiliation” and was branded with the “stigma of guilt” despite being innocent.
“Today marks a victory for the saffron flag, a victory for Hindutva,” she declared emotionally. “The false narrative of ‘saffron terrorism’ has finally been disproven.” The Mumbai NIA court acquitted all seven accused, ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish its case beyond a reasonable doubt after a 17-year trial. The court also directed the Maharashtra government to provide Rs 2 lakh in compensation to the families of those killed in the blast and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
In her address to the court, Thakur said the ordeal had ruined her life. “I was living a sage’s life, but I was made an accused… I was called by them for investigation and was arrested and tortured,” she stated. “They defamed Bhagwa through a conspiracy. Today, Bhagwa has won, and Hindutva has won.”
The verdict, delivered by Judge Abhay Lohati, highlighted significant shortcomings in the prosecution’s case. The judge noted that while a blast did occur, the prosecution “failed to prove that the bomb was placed in that motorcycle,” a key piece of evidence linked to Thakur. The court also found evidence of manipulation in some medical certificates and determined that the number of injured was 95, not 101 as previously claimed.
The blast, which occurred on September 29, 2008, near a mosque in Malegaon, killed six people. The other individuals acquitted alongside Thakur are Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi, and Sameer Kulkarni. The verdict marks the culmination of a high-profile case that has been a subject of intense political and public debate for over a decade.
