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Scroll.in
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Malegaon blasts: After acquittal, Prasad Purohit welcomed with flower petals, ‘Jai Shri Ram' chants
Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, one of the seven persons acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blasts case last week, was on Sunday given a grand welcome by family members and supporters when he returned home in Pune. At the Shantisheela Housing Society on the city's Law College Road, Purohit was welcomed with a procession, in which traditional drums were beaten and flower petals were showered on him, PTI reported. Bharatiya Janata Party member and Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni was among those who attended the event. Those who participated in the procession shouted 'Jai Shree Ram' and 'Sanatan Dharm Ki Jai' to celebrate Purohit's acquittal. Purohit was on bail in the case since August 2017 after having spent nearly nine years in jail. He has been posted at an Army formation in Mumbai since he got bail, according to The Indian Express. He visited his Pune home for the first time on Sunday after his acquittal on July 31. #WATCH | Pune, Maharashtra: Society members and friends of Lt Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit felicitate him, as they welcome him home. NIA Court acquitted all accused, including him, in 2008 Malegaon blast case. — ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2025 Apart from Purohit, the others who were acquitted in the case were Pragya Singh Thakur, Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sudhakar Chaturvedi. Thakur went on to become a BJP MP from Bhopal between 2019 and 2024. Six persons were killed and around 100 were injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon in northern Maharashtra on September 29, 2008. At the event on Sunday, Purohit said that not even an enemy could question his 'loyalty towards the nation', the Hindustan Times reported. 'During my submission [in court], I insisted that I be called anything but not aatankwadi [terrorist] or deshdrohi [traitor],' he said. Charges unproven but not baseless: NIA court The special National Investigation Agency court that acquitted the persons accused in the Malegaon blast case on July 31 remarked in its verdict that although the prosecution could not prove its charges against Purohit, it could not be said that the allegations against him were ' baseless or without foundation ', Live Law reported. The court rejected his argument that the prosecution should have sought prior sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Special Judge AK Lahoti did not accept the contention that he had been collecting information from Hindutva organisations like Abhinav Bharat as part of his official duty. The court said that Purohit was one of the founding members of Abhinav Bharat and was an active member of it, Live Law reported. There was no evidence to show that Purohit's superior authority had given him permission to join the Abhinav Bharat trust or to collect funds for it, the court said. 'As per the ethos of the military intelligence, the commanding officer or Discipline & Vigilance Branch used to protect the interest of officers and sources,' the judge noted, according to Live Law. 'But after the arrest of Purohit, no any steps were taken to protect their officer. If he would have really discharged the duty under the colour of his office, there would have been protection to him.' The court said that Purohit had only been allowed to 'mix up' with certain organisations to collect information about them, but there was no evidence to show that he had been allowed to join any group. The lieutenant colonel had claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case, and that he had been working as an intelligence officer seeking to monitor extremist groups.
Hans India
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Purohit gets rousing welcome in Pune: asserts no one can question my patriotism, loyalty to nation
Not even an enemy can question my patriotism and loyalty towards the nation, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case after a bruising 17-year battle, said here on Sunday amid a rousing welcome by kin and well-wishers as he arrived home. A special Mumbai court on Thursday acquitted Purohit, former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and five others who were accused of involvement in a blast that killed six and injured 101 in Malegaon in Nashik district on September 29 that year. Outside Shantisheela Housing Society on Law College Road, where he lives, the military officer was mobbed by friends, family members, supporters, members of various right-wing organisations and others. He rode an open jeep, accompanied by his wife Aparna, amid the beating of 'dhol-tasha' (traditional drums) and showering of flower petals, with participants raising slogans of "Jai Shree Ram" and "Sanatan dharm ki jai" as well those hailing his acquittal. Several of them waved saffron flags. Addressing the gathering, a visibly emotional Purohit said, "I never imagined that I would get such a grand welcome from all of you. I am speechless and unable to gather my thoughts or express my feelings." "One can only imagine the pain one endures when false allegations are levelled. But I never had any difficulty in facing them," he said defiantly. Purohit said he could never tell his wife and mother about the torture he endured and the insults he was subjected to but they always understood. Through all these years, his kin, friends and a huge number of well-wishers always stood by him, the Lt Colonel added. "As a soldier, what I can say with conviction is that not even an enemy can question my patriotism and loyalty towards the nation. During my submission (in court), I insisted that I be called anything but not aatankwadi (terrorist) or deshdrohi (traitor)," he said. Taking about the years of incarceration, Purohit said his health deteriorated after arrest as he was mentally unable to come to terms with the questions that were being raised about him. Purohit, a fitness enthusiast for long, further said, "During one of the early court meetings after my arrest, my wife saw my condition and asked whether I was still exercising. I said no. She then took special permission from the court, arranged for some exercise equipment, and encouraged me to work out daily." Earlier, after arriving at his housing complex, Purohit offered prayers at the Hanuman temple. Meanwhile, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni, who was present at the site, said Purohit's acquittal was a "tight slap" from the court to those who coined the term "bhagwa aatankwad" (saffron terror). "Just like films such as The Kerala Story and The Kashmir Files, a movie titled Malegaon Stories should be made to expose these fake narratives," she added.
