Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, recently acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, made explosive allegations on Saturday, claiming she was tortured by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officers to falsely implicate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, and other prominent figures. Speaking to reporters outside a Mumbai sessions court after completing surety formalities, Thakur described enduring 24 days of illegal detention, including hospital confinement, where she suffered a collapsed lung.

Thakur, arrested in October 2008 for her alleged role in the September 29 blast that killed six and injured 101 in Malegaon, accused ATS officers, including then-chief Hemant Karkare and Param Bir Singh, of coercion. “They said, ‘Name Modi, Bhagwat, and others, or we’ll torture you,’” she claimed, asserting she refused to lie. Thakur called the case a Congress-orchestrated conspiracy to defame Hindutva, labeling her acquittal a “victory of Sanatan Dharma.” She plans to detail her ordeal in a forthcoming book.

However, Special Judge A.K. Lahoti’s 1,036-page verdict, delivered on July 31, dismissed Thakur’s torture claims, citing no evidence and referencing a 2011 Supreme Court ruling rejecting similar allegations. The NIA court acquitted Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, and five others, noting the prosecution’s failure to prove the motorcycle used in the blast belonged to Thakur or establish a conspiracy. The court ordered Rs 2 lakh compensation for victims’ families and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

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Thakur’s allegations, unsupported by judicial findings, have reignited debate over the Malegaon investigation, with victims’ families planning to appeal the acquittal in the High Court.

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