Criticizing the Congress-led central government in power at the time, Pragya Thakur strongly alleged that the party orchestrated a fabricated legal case against her. According to her, this was a calculated move as part of a broader conspiracy designed to tarnish the image of saffron ideology—symbolized by the Bhagwa color—and discredit the armed forces. This statement came just days after a special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) delivered a verdict acquitting her in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Thakur, a former Member of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), made sensational claims in the aftermath of the verdict, asserting that during her custody, she was not only coerced but also subjected to physical abuse in an attempt to make her falsely implicate high-profile leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat.
She stated that she had documented everything in written form and identified all the individuals she was pressured to name. According to her, the investigators repeatedly told her, "If you name these individuals, we will stop torturing you." She emphasized that their primary goal was to mentally and physically torment her into submission. Thakur reaffirmed her accusations against the Congress, claiming that the false case was part of the party’s deep-rooted agenda to malign the saffron identity and portray national institutions, including the military, in a negative light.
Describing the court’s decision as a triumph of righteousness or "dharma," Pragya Thakur reiterated her belief that the Congress party filed the case without any legitimate evidence or justification. She accused the party of being anti-religion and claimed it actively supported terrorists. In her view, Congress lacked the moral or ideological foundation to represent the interests of the nation and could never qualify as a truly nationalist party.
Seventeen years after a deadly explosion devastated Malegaon in Maharashtra, the special NIA court issued its final judgment, acquitting all seven individuals charged in connection with the blast. Among those cleared were Pragya Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit. In his detailed ruling, Special Judge AK Lahoti took a critical view of the prosecution's handling of the case. He emphasized that mere suspicion, without solid and irrefutable proof, was insufficient to carry the case forward. The judge concluded that the prosecution failed to substantiate its allegations with evidence that met the legal standard of being beyond a reasonable doubt.
In the wake of the court’s decision, former Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer Mehboob Mujawar made a startling revelation during an interview with India Today TV. He alleged that his superior, Investigating Officer Param Bir Singh, had ordered him to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, apparently to bolster the controversial narrative of “saffron terror.” Mujawar disclosed that the directive to arrest individuals such as Ram Kalsangra, Sandip Dange, Dilip Patidar, and Mohan Bhagwat came from higher authorities within the agency. However, he admitted that detaining someone of Bhagwat’s stature, who held significant political and social influence in Maharashtra, was beyond his operational capacity.
Initially, the Malegaon blasts were attributed to members of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by the Maharashtra ATS. However, in 2011, the National Investigation Agency took over the case. Two years later, in 2013, the NIA and the Maharashtra ATS submitted a joint chargesheet naming eight individuals associated with the Abhinav Bharat group as being responsible for the attack, thereby shifting the investigation's focus and altering the trajectory of the case.
