Mumbai, January 8, 2026 – In a tale of resilience that spans nearly two decades, Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit, a decorated officer of India's Military Intelligence, emerged fully exonerated from the shadows of one of the country's most politically charged terror probes. Acquitted in July 2025 alongside six others in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, Purohit's journey from arrest and alleged torture to promotion reflects a stark critique of investigative overreach and the human cost of prolonged judicial limbo.
The September 29, 2008, blast in Malegaon, a Muslim-majority town in Maharashtra, claimed six lives and injured over 100, shattering a community during the holy month of Ramzan. What began as a probe into Islamist militancy quickly pivoted, with Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) alleging a "Hindu terror" conspiracy. Purohit, then a serving lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army's Military Intelligence unit, was arrested on November 5, 2008, branded the alleged mastermind. Authorities claimed he sourced RDX explosives from Jammu and Kashmir, assembled bombs at his Pune residence, and orchestrated the attack using a motorbike linked to co-accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, now a BJP MP.
The charges painted Purohit as the architect of Abhinav Bharat, a shadowy outfit purportedly plotting "Hindu terror" strikes. A chargesheet filed in January 2009 named 11 accused, including Purohit, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for murder, conspiracy, and fomenting communal enmity. But the narrative unraveled over 17 grueling years of trial, marred by over 300 witnesses—34 of whom turned hostile—and shifting investigations after the case transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011.
Purohit's life was upended overnight. Publicly vilified as a traitor before any verdict, he endured nine years in Tihar Jail and Arthur Road Prison—not as a convict, but as an undertrial—from 2008 to 2017. Bail pleas were rebuffed until the Supreme Court granted relief in September 2017, citing investigative lapses. In affidavits and interviews, Purohit alleged brutal torture by ATS officers, including sleep deprivation, electric shocks, and coerced confessions naming senior BJP and RSS figures like Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. "They broke me physically and mentally," he later recounted, his voice steady but eyes bearing the scars of betrayal.
On July 31, 2025, Special NIA Judge A.K. Lahoti delivered a scathing verdict, acquitting all seven accused, including Purohit and Thakur. The court lambasted the prosecution for failing to prove key links: no forensic evidence tied the explosive-laden motorbike to Thakur, and claims of bomb-making at Purohit's home crumbled under scrutiny. "Terrorism has no religion," the judge remarked, emphasizing that convictions demand "cogent evidence, not mere perception." The blast's occurrence was undisputed, but the accused's involvement was not. Victims' families, devastated, vowed to appeal to the Bombay High Court, decrying the ruling as a miscarriage for the grieving.
Purohit's acquittal was no mere legal footnote; it reignited debates on "saffron terror" probes and selective justice. As one of India's first high-profile cases implicating Hindu nationalists, it drew international scrutiny, with outlets like the BBC highlighting its role in reshaping counter-terror narratives under successive governments.
Emerging from the courtroom, Purohit spoke with the quiet resolve of a soldier unbroken. "I am a soldier who loves this country immensely. The country must always remain supreme and its foundations strong," he told reporters, eschewing bitterness for patriotism. In a later interview with The Times of India, he added, "Even enemies won't question my patriotism... I won't tolerate being branded a terrorist." He expressed profound gratitude to the armed forces, which "stood by me" through the ordeal, and to the judiciary for "delivering justice." Speaking to Republic TV, he urged national unity: "Let us contribute positively to India's future, rejecting negativity and spite."
His wife, Aparna Purohit, a pillar of unyielding support, captured the family's raw emotion. "I am glad this is over... Truth is always the source of power. We knew this was wrong. Come what may, we had to fight against injustice. I am glad that truth has prevailed today," she said, tears mingling with relief during a warm public welcome in Pune. The couple, married for over two decades, now eyes normalcy amid the echoes of trauma.
Vindication came swiftly on the professional front. On September 26, 2025, the Indian Army promoted Purohit to full Colonel, clearing his name and restoring his rank with backdated seniority. Sources close to the family described it as "poetic justice," allowing the 62-year-old to resume duties in intelligence, albeit scarred by lost years and health setbacks from incarceration.
As 2026 unfolds, Purohit's story transcends personal triumph, serving as a cautionary chronicle for India's justice system. Advocacy groups hail it as a win against "fabricated terror narratives," while critics warn of emboldened appeals against terror convictions. For the man at its center, the fight was never for vengeance, but for the truth that, after 17 years, finally set him free. "Sacrifices make the country, not freebies," he reflected in a poignant social media echo, a sentiment resonating from Malegaon to the barracks.
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