Seventeen years after a powerful blast hit Malegaon in Maharashtra, a special NIA court in Mumbai will pronounce its verdict in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case today. Security has been intensified outside the special NIA court with police keeping a tight vigil around the area with barricades and strict checking. The explosion, on the night of September 29, 2008, near Bhikku Chowk in Malegaon, killed six people and left more than a hundred injured. A low-intensity bomb fitted to a motorcycle went off near a busy intersection, triggering panic and chaos in the communally sensitive town.
Initially investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the case saw a dramatic turn when the probe led to the arrest of individuals linked to Hindu right-wing groups - giving rise to the controversial political phrase "Hindu terror." Among those arrested were former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and former Army officer Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit, who both denied involvement and were later granted bail.The case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011, which re-registered the offence and conducted further investigations.
Since then, multiple chargesheets and supplementary reports have been filed. The trial began in 2018 after charges were formally framed against seven accused. Over the course of the trial, the court examined 323 prosecution witnesses and eight defence witnesses. A large volume of evidence was submitted, including more than 10,800 exhibits and over 400 articles seized during the investigation. Approximately 40 witnesses turned hostile during the proceedings.The verdict will be pronounced by A K Lahoti of the Special NIA Court, Mumbai. All seven accused are currently out on bail.Among the seven on trial, Sadhvi Pragya and Lt Col Purohit emerged as the most prominent and controversial accused in the case.