Mumbai: Almost 17 years after a blast killed six persons and left more than 100 injured in Maharashtra’s communally sensitive Malegaon town, a special NIA court is likely to deliver its verdict in the case on Thursday.
Seven accused, including BJP leader and former MP Pragya Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, faced trial in the case for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code.
Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni are the other accused in the case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which conducted the probe into the case, has sought “commensurate punishment” for the accused.
The trial, which started in 2018, got over on April 19, 2025, and the case was reserved for judgement.
Six persons were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in the town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008.
In its final argument, the NIA submitted that the blast in Malegaon - a town with a sizable Muslim population - was orchestrated by the conspirators to terrorise a section of Muslim community, disrupt essential services, create communal tensions, and threaten the state’s internal security.