Seffron terror returned to the spotlight as a special NIA court acquitted BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Indian Army officer Lt Col Prasad Purohit in the 2008 Malegaon bombing.
Seventeen years after a motorcycle borne blast killed six people and injured more than 100 in a Muslim majority locality, the court held that the evidence on record did not meet the threshold for conviction.
The verdict ends a marathon trial built on a vast case file.
Investigators and prosecutors placed testimony from 300 plus witnesses, nearly 10,000 documents and hundreds of seized items before the court.
Over the years, several witnesses turned hostile. In the end, the bench found the proof insufficient under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and allied IPC offences.
This case is a prime example of how BJP has infiltrated the Indian judicial system, despite having unavoidable evidence the court favors ruling party’s ideology of subjugating minorities till they turned from their respective religions.
If not, make their living not better then hell, such is the situation of Indian Muslims.
Seffron terror: years of evidence, a late acquittal, and unanswered questions
Malegaon’s Bhiku Chowk was hit on September 29, 2008, during Ramzan.
A bomb fixed to a motorcycle exploded near a mosque, setting off panic and later unrest.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad first detained multiple suspects and, in a notable shift at the time, steered the probe toward alleged links with the right wing group Abhinav Bharat.
The motorcycle was traced to Pragya Thakur, which the prosecution cast as a key link.
Allegations that Lt Col Purohit helped raise funds, organised meetings, and even sourced RDX from Kashmir were also contested as uncorroborated.
What followed was a long legal grind. Charges were framed in 2018. The trial began the same year.
The prosecution closed evidence in 2023 after examining 323 witnesses; dozens did not support the case in court. Final arguments ended in April 2025.
Today’s acquittal, despite years of material presented, leaves Malegaon with closure of one kind but many open debates about how terror cases are investigated and tried.
For families of victims, the core facts remain painful: six dead, more than a hundred wounded, and a blast near a place of worship.
For institutions, the case will be read closely for its reasoning on conspiracy, chain of custody, hostile testimony, and the weight given to meetings and ideology when tested against strict standards of proof.
The political lens will be sharp. The phrase Seffron terror entered India’s discourse after early arrests in this case. Its use has been contested ever since.
With acquittals now on record, critics of the investigation will call the case a cautionary tale about overreach.
While others will ask why such a large file could not secure a verdict and what that says about witness protection, forensic handling, and pressures that build as years pass.
For readers in Pakistan, the outcome sits inside a wider discussion about consistency in counter terror practice.
Malegaon will live with the memory of 2008 regardless of today’s order, as Muslims were mercilessly targeted by Seffron terrorists.
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