An Indian court on Thursday acquitted firebrand Hindu nationalist nun and former lawmaker, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, and six others who were accused of participating in a deadly bombing near a mosque in 2008.
The attack, which occurred in Malegaon in the western state of Maharashtra, killed six people and injured more than 100 others when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded near a mosque.
For years, seven individuals were tried on charges of terrorism and criminal conspiracy, including former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur.
The prosecution had claimed that Thakur’s motorcycle was used to transport the explosives and that she had attended a key planning meeting before the attack. However, Judge AK Lahoti ruled on Thursday that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence against Thakur and the six other accused.
According to the Indian legal website Live Law, Judge Lahoti stated, “Judgements cannot be based on morals and public perception.” Defence lawyer Ranjit Nair confirmed that the judge noted the prosecution was unable to “present any proof against the accused.”
The verdict was met with disappointment from Indian parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi, who said on X that the victims were “targeted for their religion” and that a “deliberately shoddy investigation/prosecution is responsible for the acquittal.”
Islam is a minority religion in Hindu-majority India, the world’s most populous country. During the trial, India’s counter-terrorism unit had alleged that the 2008 bombing was orchestrated to incite communal tensions, as reported by local media.
Thakur, 55, spent nine years in jail before being released on bail in 2017. She later won a parliamentary seat from the central city of Bhopal after being nominated by the ruling BJP. Indian election rules allow individuals to run for office as long as they have not been convicted of a crime.
Thakur has a history of making controversial statements, including calling the radical Hindu assassin of Mahatma Gandhi a “patriot,” for which she was reprimanded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also drew attention for claiming that drinking cow urine had helped cure her cancer and promoting the benefits of a concoction of milk, butter, and cow dung.
