“Malegaon Bomb Blast Case: A Special National Investigation Agency Court Acquitted”

• On September 29, 2008, a bomb blast in Malegaon, Maharashtra, killed six people and injured 95 others.

• The blast occurred during the holy month of Ramzan, causing significant damage to surrounding property.

• An FIR was registered and the investigation was initially undertaken by the Nashik Rural Police and Mumbai’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

• The case was transferred to the NIA in 2011, and charges against seven individuals were dropped.

• The remaining seven were put on trial under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, along with charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, and the Explosive Substances Act, 1908.

• The prosecution failed to produce credible and admissible evidence establishing the accused’s involvement in the crime.

• The court held that Ms. Thakur was not in “conscious possession” of the LML Freedom motorcycle in which the explosive device was allegedly planted.

• The ATS alleged that the explosive used in the blast was RDX, claiming it had been procured by Colonel Purohit during his posting in Jammu & Kashmir.

• The court rejected Mr. Purohit’s claim that his association with fringe organisations like Abhinav Bharat was part of his official duties as an intelligence officer.

• The key evidence comprised confessional statements recorded under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999, which were rendered inadmissible after MCOCA was dropped from the case in 2016.

• The victims’ families intend to explore legal remedies by filing an independent appeal in the Bombay High Court.