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.
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.
The 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, spanning nearly 17 years, was marked by changes in investigating agencies and five different judges, contributing to significant delays, according to victims and accused.
A special court, in its acquittal order in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has highlighted a running battle between the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), pointing out stark contradictions in their probe.
In a state of trance, Pandey reveals that while working for the Indian Air Force, he got in touch with Purohit who was in the military intelligence at that time.
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.
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.
Among other grounds for seeking discharge, Purohit had claimed lack of sanction under relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure to prosecute him.
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.
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.
Local people prevented the police from reaching the site immediately after the blast and it could have been done to shield the accused, said Thakur's lawyer, advocate JP Mishra.
The apex court said it has imposed certain conditions on Purohit while granting bail.
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.
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 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.
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.
The laptop, handed over by the Army after a week of Purohit's arrest, was examined at a forensic laboratory during which, the probe agencies, claimed that he was often visiting anti-Muslim and jihadi websites, sources attached with the investigations said. But, the investigators did not get details about the composition about the saffron outfit -- Abhinav Bharat -- whose cadres are alleged to be behind the blast in Malegaon on September 29 which they were looking for.
The Bombay high court had on April 25 granted bail to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, accused of plotting the September 2008 Malegaon blast, but rejected the bail plea of co-accused Purohit saying the charges against him were of grave nature.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), on Monday, did not name Lt Col Prasad Srikant Purohit as one of the main conspirators in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case. Purohit was earlier being considered as one of the main accused in the case, but NIA's revelation has brought in a new twist in the tale.
However, the Pune ATS moved an application seeking the army officer's custody in another case registered with them. Purohit was arrested earlier this month in connection with the September 29 Malegaon blast that killed six and injured 80. He is among ten, including sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, arrested for their alleged role in the blast.
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 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.
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.
The court has asked Sadhvi Pragya Thakur to pay a surety of Rs 5 lakh and surrender her passport to the National Investigation Agency.
The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday said there was no proof against Lt Col Prasad Purohit in the Samjhauta blast case.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday said that he has asked the army to provide Lt Col Prasad Purohit with all the documents he has sought to prove his innocence in the Malegaon blasts case.
The recent revelations made in the Army Court of Inquiry favouring Lt Colonel S P Purohit have put the National Investigating agency in a spot of bother with regard to its investigation into the involvement of right-wing terror groups in the Malegaon blasts case.
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".
The special MCOCA court on Tuesday directed the state to file its reply to the allegations of physical torture levelled by sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Purohit and others accused in the Malegaon blast case
Thakur had appeared before the court in June last year after it ordered the seven accused to remain present once a week. She later sought exemption from appearance on various occasions since then.
Triggering controversy over capital punishment to Yakub Memon in Mumbai blasts case, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday sought to know whether the perpetrators of demolition of disputed structure in Ayodhya, communal riots of Mumbai and Gujarat and other such sensational cases would get a similar punishment.
The Congress on Friday termed the National Investigation Agecy's decision to drop all charges against Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was a vindication of the disclosure made by former special public prosecutor.
During investigation, 'sufficient evidences have not been found against' Pragya Singh Thakur and five others, the NIA said, adding it has submitted in the chargesheet 'that the prosecution against them is not maintainable'.
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