TCN News Desk
Mumbai: Nearly 17 years after a deadly explosion shook the communally sensitive town of Malegaon in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, a special NIA court on Saturday concluded the trial in the 2008 blast case and reserved its judgement for May 8.
The blast, which occurred on September 29, 2008, killed six people and left over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque in Malegaon, located about 200 km from Mumbai.
On Saturday, the prosecution submitted its final written arguments, including citations, marking the formal end of proceedings. Special Judge A K Lahoti then adjourned the matter to May 8 for the verdict.
Over the course of the lengthy trial, the prosecution examined 323 witnesses — 34 of whom turned hostile.
Seven individuals are facing trial in the case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Among the accused are Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, BJP MP Pragya Thakur, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni.
Initially investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011. In its 2016 chargesheet, the NIA gave a clean chit to Pragya Thakur and three others — Shyam Sahu, Praveen Takalki and Shivnarayan Kalsangra — citing lack of evidence and recommending their discharge.
However, while the court did absolve Sahu, Takalki and Kalsangra, it ruled that Sadhvi Pragya Thakur would continue to stand trial.
On October 30, 2018, the special court framed charges under UAPA sections 16 (committing a terrorist act) and 18 (conspiracy to commit a terrorist act) and IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 153A (promoting enmity between religious groups).
The recording of prosecution witness testimony concluded in September 2023, bringing one of India’s most high-profile terror trials to its final stage.