Malegaon verdict ‘slap on the faces’ of those who used the term ‘saffron terror’, says Pragya Thakur

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pragya Singh Thakur, who was recently acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, said on Sunday (August 3, 2025) in Bhopal that the court verdict was a “slap on the faces” of those who used terms such as “saffron terror” to describe the incident.

“’Satyamev Jayate’ (truth always triumphs), which has been said in our scriptures, has been proven. Those who used to say bhagwa atankwad (saffron terrorism), their faces have been blackened. The society and the country have given them a solid reply. The court’s decision is crystal clear and it is a slap on the faces of those who called it saffron terror,” Ms. Thakur, a former Lok Sabha member from Bhopal, said after arriving at Bhopal.

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On July 31, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused, including Ms. Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, in connection with the bomb blast on September 29, 2008, in Malegaon of Maharashtra’s Nashik district, which killed six people and injured about 100 others. The court said that the prosecution had failed to prove its case, including the allegation that the motorcycle on which the bomb was allegedly strapped belonged to Ms. Thakur.

Speaking to media persons outside Bhopal’s Raja Bhuj International Airport, Ms. Thakur dubbed the court’s verdict a “victory of religion and truth”.

She reiterated her claims that, during her time in jail, she had been “pressurised and tortured” into naming several senior political and social leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

Also Read | 2008 Malegaon blast: Who were the accused? A brief timeline of the case

“I have said this earlier too that they forced me to take names of tall leaders. I didn’t take those names; I didn’t act as they wanted me to. So, they tortured me. Those names especially included Mohan Bhagwat, Ram Madhav, PM Modi, Yogi Adityanath, Indresh Kumar and other leaders,” Ms. Thakur said.

The court, however, rejected her claims of torture while noting that Ms. Thakur had not raised any such complaint when she was produced before a magistrate following her arrest.