In a significant watering down of the charges in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has decided to give a clean chit to Sadhvi Pragya Thakur by dropping her name from its chargesheet to be filed in a Mumbai court today.

Flawed investigation?

According to the NIA, the investigation has failed to find any substantial evidence that establishes the Sadhvi's involvement in the blast. The watering down of charges against her may set the stage for her early release from jail.

The NIA is also likely to tell the court that evidence against the key accused, Colonel Prasad Purohit, were fabricated and the investigation led by former Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare was flawed.

What is the case

The initial probe on the Malegaon blast was conducted by the Maharashtra ATS and later handed over to the NIA in 2011. Before the NIA took over the case, Maharashtra ATS had booked 16 people and filed chargesheets against 14 in a Mumbai court. Earlier this month, India Today TV had accessed the court of inquiry papers issued to Colonel Purohit, who has been in jail for eight years in connection with the Malegaon blasts of September 2008. The Ministry of Defence also claims that he has been falsely charged. The papers validate Purohit's claims that he had always kept his senior officials in the loop while carrying out intelligence activities that included infiltration of groups like SIMI, Indian Mujahideen and the Naxals. The Malegaon blast in Nashik district of Maharashtra on September 29, 2008 claimed four lives and left nearly 80 others wounded when two bombs planted on a motorcycle exploded.

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