SIMI orchestrated the 2008 Malegaon blast: Pragya Singh’s lawyer
While Thakur and former army officers Ramesh Upadhyay and Prasad Shrikant Purohit are among the prime accused in the case, her lawyer JP Mishra made the claim as part of his final arguments before the special NIA judge AK Lahoti
MUMBAI: The September 2008 Malegaon blast, which claimed the lives of eight people and injured over 101 others, could be the handiwork of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the lawyer of former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur told the special National Investigating Agency (NIA) court on Thursday. While Thakur and former army officers Ramesh Upadhyay and Prasad Shrikant Purohit are among the prime accused in the case, her lawyer JP Mishra made the claim as part of his final arguments before the special NIA judge AK Lahoti.

Mishra said that a huge crowd had gathered at the blast site near Hamidia Masjid after the incident and pelted stones at the police, which prevented them from entering the area. The move was orchestrated by SIMI in a bid to protect their people, he noted. SIMI’s office was located close by and the bombs were assembled there, he further claimed, adding that one of the bombs exploded while it was being transported on a bike.
The final hearing in the matter began in June this year, more than fifteen years after the blast rocked the communally sensitive town of Malegaon.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, which had initially investigated the case, suspected the role of Hindu extremists behind it. After the NIA took over the case in April 2011 on the directions of the ministry of home affairs, 11 suspects were named in the chargesheet including Thakur, Upadhyay and Purohit.
Four of the suspects were subsequently discharged by the NIA court while charges were framed against the remaining seven including Thakur, Purohit and Upadhyay under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to conspiracy and murder.
The prosecution had closed its evidence against the seven accused in September 2023 after examining 323 witnesses.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, special NIA judge AK Lahoti gave Thakur time till October 16 to appear before the court on grounds of ill health. In an order passed on Thursday, the court considered the grounds raised by Thakur’s lawyer and stated that day to day exemption applications should be filed on record till her appearance in court or till October 16, whichever was earlier.

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