‘Was stripped, kept in 5°C room, heard Pragya didi's screams': Shyam Sahu hails justice for entire Hindu community; says trauma still haunts him

Time of India

a day ago

INDORE: He says he was stripped, locked up in a chilled room, made to sit on shards of broken glass while he could hear
Sadhvi Pragya Thakur
scream in pain in the next room. For Shyam Sahu - one of the men who was arrested in connection with the
Malegaon blast case
, spent three years in jail and later discharged - the trauma he said he faced never ceased to haunt him.
However, Thursday's verdict - acquitting seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case - came as a balm for Sahu, an Indore-based businessman, as he celebrated here, while reliving the torment.
"It is a day of celebration of truth, but it reopens wounds that never healed," said Sahu, who was arrested on Oct 17, 2008, and spent over three years in jail before being discharged along with four others.
"Truth was troubled, but never defeated.
This is not just a personal victory, it's justice for the entire Hindu community that was vilified for political mileage," Sahu said.
Sahu recalled the brutalities he faced in those early days of detention. "They kept us in illegal custody for 4 to 5 days. They stripped me, locked me in a chilled room at 5°C, beat me brutally on my soles, made me sit on broken glass bottles. We were reduced to crawling just to use the toilet," he said.
"They hit us for several hours and then gave us a balm to rub on our wounds so that it was not visible in medical examination. We were hit on our palms and asked to press paper balls in our hands to increase blood circulation to hide the wounds," he said.
But what haunts him the most is what he heard from the next room. "Pragya didi's (Sadhvi Pragya Thakur) screams shook us to the core. We realised what real horror was," Sahu said.
At the time, Sahu was 38 - a father of three, his youngest barely a year old. He ran a mobile phone showroom and real estate business, lived in a joint family. "When I was brought to Mumbai four months later, my elder brother Mohan came to see me in court. He suffered a heart attack right in front of me. I was in custody, couldn't even go to the hospital where he died. I carry that pain in me every day," Sahu added,
Sahu was later granted temporary bail to attend his brother's and grandmother's funerals.
He spent time in Nashik jail, then Arthur Road after MCOCA charges were added. Just days later, the 26/11 attacks happened. "Ajmal Kasab was brought in and kept in a nearby cell. The govt shifted us to Taloja jail with hardened criminals like Dawood's men, Chhota Rajan's aides, Arun Gawli's gang. They feared an attack on Kasab - we were moved for his safety," he said.
Sahu was among five accused discharged earlier - including Shivnarayan Kalsangra, Jagdeep Mahatre (Dombivli), Praveen Takalki (Karnataka), and Rakesh Dhawde (Pune).
"But there was no real relief. Society didn't accept us. People avoided our families. Financially, emotionally, we were ruined," he said.
Sahu lashed out at the political narrative that followed. "Congress, for the sake of a vote bank, gave us the tag of 'Hindu terrorism'. Congress leaders defamed an entire community. Innocent people suffered - and not one apology came."
As the last of the accused walk free, Sahu remains clear: justice delayed has been justice denied. "We're free men now, but what about our lost years, lost loved ones, lost dignity? No verdict can give that back."