All through the trial in the military court Colonel Purohit stated that every action of his was known to his superiors who had assigned him to undertake undercover operations.
Soon after the verdict, celebrations broke out outside Lt Colonel Purohit's residence, where supporters burst firecrackers and distributed sweets to mark the court's decision.
He had not played any role in the blast, Purohit had said, adding that he was in jail for the last seven years without trial.
Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, received a grand welcome upon his return to Pune. Supporters celebrated his acquittal after a special court noted a lack of reliable evidence against him.
Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit hailed a special court's order acquitting them in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Thakur said the acquittal was a win for "bhagwa" (saffron) and that God will punish those who tried to insult it. Purohit said he was implicated and will continue to serve the nation.
Family members of victims of the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast have challenged the acquittal of the accused, including Pragya Singh Thakur and Prasad Purohit, in the Bombay High Court, citing faulty investigation and the nature of conspiracy.
For the first time a serving army officer was accused of terrorism.
The other accused in the Malegaon blast case question Lt Colonel Purohit's delayed change in stance. Say they will challenge it in court. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
The Bombay high court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of 2008 Malegaon blast accused Lt Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit but allowed liberty to co-accused Ajay Rahirkar on certain conditions.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Wednesday arrested Lieutenant Colonel Srikant Purohit in connection with the September 29 Malegaon blasts, an ATS official said. Purohit was interrogated two days ago by the ATS in connection with the blasts in Malegaon and was arrested today, Additional Commissioner of Police (ATS) Parambir Singh said. Singh, however, refused to reveal Purohit's role in the blasts.
Here's the list of the seven accused who faced trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
Pakistan's demand to hand over Lt Colonel Purohit in connection with the Samjahutha Express blast will turn out to be a damp squib considering the fact that the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai ATS makes no mention of the case.
A special court acquitted seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, citing a lack of cogent and reliable evidence. The court emphasized that mere suspicion cannot replace real proof and highlighted loopholes in the prosecution's case.
A special court acquitted seven individuals in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, challenging the prosecution's assertion that the right-wing group Abhinav Bharat was responsible. The court emphasized that the organization remains unbanned by the government.
Nearly 17 years after a blast in Malegaon town of north Maharashtra claimed six lives, a special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the seven accused, including former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, noting there was 'no reliable and cogent evidence' against them.
The Supreme Court has junked a plea filed by Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit seeking discharge in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
The Indian Army's military police and quick response team escorted Colonel Purohit out of the jail.
Among other grounds for seeking discharge, Purohit had claimed lack of sanction under relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure to prosecute him.
Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, an accused in the September 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, on Tuesday filed an application before a special court in Mumbai requesting that the ongoing trial be held in-camera.
For Malegaon's Muslims, Rahul Gandhi's remarks were simply one more indication that the party they once supported no longer cares for them, notes Jyoti Punwani.
"I have spent nine years in jail and have suffered a lot. Though I have been reinstated in service, this is an exception since, I have a good record," Shivade said on behalf of Purohit.
The judicial custody of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit, accused of being involved in the Malegaon blast, was on Monday extended till January 17 by a local court in a case relating to procuring arms license on fake documents.The army officer was produced before Judge V V Joshi after the end of his judicial custody today.The court sent Purohit in judicial remand for another 12 days, his counsel Avinash Bhide told PTI.
Purohit was doing his job as a military intelligence officer and was "framed" in the case, his lawyer and former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the high court on Friday.
The high court was hearing Purohit's application seeking that all charges against him in the case be dropped. Six people were killed and 100 others injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon city in Nashik district of Maharashtra on September 29, 2008.
'My husband will never forget the torture nor forgive those responsible for it.'
The Armed Forces Tribunal on Wednesday asked the army to reconvene the probe against Malegaon blast accused Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit, holding that the Court of Inquiry against him "suffers from the vice of irregularity".
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday came in defence of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, prime accused in the Malegaon blasts, and called the imposition of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against them as 'political conspiracy'.
The Lt Colonel Shrikant Purohit case has taken a pretty interesting turn. The claim of the suspected mastermind of 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing and other terror cases that he was not one of the terrorists but an infiltrator on a military intelligence operation has certainly raised eyebrows.
The arrest of Hindu activists in connection with the Malegaon blast has put several investigating agencies on rewind mode. If the revelations by Lieutenant Colonel Srikant Purohit are to be believed then several bomb blasts in the country need to be reinvestigated.
A Pune court on Friday rejected Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit's plea for an extension of his police custody in the city. Purohit's lawyer Shrikant Shivde told rediff.com that the armyman had been physically and mentally tortured by the ATS, while he was in their custody.
Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit, who was arrested for his role in the Malegaon blast, was produced before a Nashik court on Saturday.The court extended Purohit's police custody till November 18.Public Prosecutor Ajay Misar told the court that Lt Col Purohit had links with the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast and he supplied the RDX used in the blast.
"It is a grievous offence. Many people were killed. The trial is still on," the apex court said when Purohit's counsel submitted that the accused was languishing in jail for the past two years.
Army Chief General V K Singh said there was no communalism in the service and officers such as Malegaon blast accused Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit were only an "aberration".
Lt Col Purohit, it is now being reported quoting statements made by officers in the court of inquiry, had actually infiltrated Hindu radical outfit Abhinav Bharat while being posted at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh to snoop in on plans to carry out terror strikes in India.
After reopening the probe into the Nanded blast of 2006, the Central Bureau of Investigation has recently taken custody of Army's tainted Lieutenant-Colonel, Srikant Purohit, and questioned him at length about his role in the incident.
Amid reports that Pakistan may seek custody of Indian nationals in connection with the Samjhauta Express case, India on Tuesday said it would be better if there is no diversion at this stage as the whole world was watching actions by Islamabad to dismantle terror infrastructure.
Lieutenant-Colonel Srikant Purohit,one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon case has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, alleging that the Maharashtra Anti Terrorrism Squad has fabricated the case against him.
A former Colonel is now being probed by the ATS for alleged links with the Malegaon blast prime accused Lt Col S P Purohit and may have extended help in training cadres of Abhinav Bharat, a little-known right wing group suspected to be involved in the conspiracy.
The prosecution has proved the entire chain that connected the accused with each other for achieving the goal of executing the bomb blast and perform terrorist acts, the written statement, filed by the intervenor for the victims, said.
Terming the invocation of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against them as inappropriate, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit and Abhinav Bharat treasurer Ajay Rahirkar, both accused in the September 29 Malegaon blast case, on Saturday moved the special MCOCA court seeking bail.Purohit and Rahirkar, in their bail applications, claimed that the Anti-Terrorism Squad had no evidence linking them to the blast and that they have nothing to do with the case.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances