Former BJP MP Pragya Thakur was acquitted of all the charges in the 2008 Malegaon blast case on Wednesday, after a Mumbai court stated that there was no evidence to prove that the motorcycle believed to have been used in the blast, which had killed six people, belonged to her.

After almost 17 years, a Special Court of the National Investigation Agency in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit.

The blast had occurred in Malegaon town in Maharashtra’s Nashik district on September 29, 2008, and had resulted in the deaths of six people and injuries to more than 100 others.

The court also ordered that a compensation of Rs 2 lakh be given to the family of each person who died, and Rs 50,000 be given to those who were injured in the blast.

The seven accused against whom charges had been framed were Thakur, Purohit, Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sudhakar Chaturvedi. All of them were out on bail.

The judge said that while the prosecution had established that the blast took place, it had failed to prove that the explosive device was fitted on the LML Freedom motorcycle that was allegedly linked to Ms Thakur.

"The chassis number of the motorbike was erased and engine number remains doubtful. There is no proof to establish Sadhvi (Pragya Thakur) as an owner and no proof to establish that she was in possession," said the judge, as he acquitted her in what became one of the longest-running terror trials in the country.

The ruling brought an end to a 17-year-long legal journey involving Pragya Thakur, the daughter of an Ayurvedic doctor from Madhya Pradesh. She came into national focus after being accused of planning a retaliatory attack based on previous incidents like the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. She was in her late thirties at the time and was labelled as the face of "Hindu terror," a term that gained traction after the Malegaon blasts. She was accused of organising manpower for the attack, while her co-accused, former Army officer Prasad Purohit, was accused of supplying the explosives. Both of them, along with five others, were acquitted.

Thakur was in court when the verdict was announced. Speaking directly to the judge, she said, "I told this at the beginning that if someone is called for an investigation, there must be some reason behind that. I was called, arrested, and tortured. This destroyed my entire life. I lived a sage's life, but I was made an accused, and no one was ready to stand with us. I am alive because I am a Sanyasi. They discredited bhagwa (saffron) in conspiracy. Today, bhagwa has emerged victorious, and Hindutva has emerged victorious, and God will punish those who are guilty," she stated.

Reacting to the verdict, her sister Upma Singh said their family had always believed in the legal system. "She told us from the first day that she was innocent."

The prosecution had said that the explosions on September 29, 2008, were caused by explosives strapped to a motorcycle. During the investigation, the Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad found that the registration number of the LML Freedom motorcycle was fake. The chassis and engine numbers had been tampered with. The motorcycle parts recovered from the scene were sent for forensic examination. Investigators said the engine number was retrieved from the tests and the motorcycle was registered in Ms Thakur’s name. She was arrested on October 23, 2008.

Allegations Of Torture

Pragya Thakur had repeatedly claimed that she was tortured while in police custody in connection with the case. The National Human Rights Commission investigated her allegations in 2014 but found no proof to support them. In 2019, she faced public criticism when she said that Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who died in the 26/11 attacks, was killed because of a curse she had placed on him.

"The investigation team summoned Hemant Karkare and told him that if you have no evidence, release her. He told them, I will do anything for evidence against her. I will not release her. This was his hatred. You will not believe, I uttered, 'tera sarvanash hoga'. Within a month, terrorists had killed him," she had said. After the backlash, she withdrew her statement and referred to Karkare as a "martyr".

2019 Election, And 5 Years Of Controversies

In a move that triggered political debate, the BJP selected Pragya Thakur as its candidate from Bhopal for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. She won the seat by a large margin, defeating senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Shortly after her victory, she drew criticism for calling Nathuram Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi, a "patriot". Prime Minister Narendra Modi later said he would never forgive those who insulted Gandhi. Throughout her term, Thakur remained in the headlines, either for her controversial remarks.