I was tortured, asked to name Narendra Modi in Malegaon blast case: Pragya Thakur

Mumbai: Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, acquitted in the September 2008 Malegaon blast case, on Saturday alleged that she was tortured by the investigating officers who asked her to name several persons including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This is the first time Thakur has made this sensational claim which finds no mention in the 1036-page judgment of the special NIA court acquitting all seven accused in the case.

Thakur appeared before the sessions court here on Saturday to complete her surety formalities. Speaking to reporters outside, she claimed that she was tortured during her interrogation.

Notably, special judge A K Lahoti in his judgment has dismissed Thakur's claims of torture and ill-treatment.

"They (officers) told me to take PM Modi's name, as at the time I was staying in Surat (Gujarat). There are several names like Bhagwat (apparent reference to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat) and so on, but I did not take anyone's name as I did not want to lie," Thakur told reporters.

She had put all this in writing, she claimed.

"Their objective was to torture me. They said if I did not take the names, then they will torture me. The names include Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Sudarshan ji, Indresh ji, Ram ji Madhav, and many more, which I can't recall at the moment," Thakur said.

The former BJP MP alleged that she was detained illegally even in the hospital where she had fainted and her lungs had collapsed.

"I am writing my story in which I will mention all this. The truth will come out. This is a victory of religion, victory of Sanatan dharma, and victory of Hindutva...this is a Sanatani Rashtra, and it is always victorious. They tried very hard by torturing me and bringing all devotees of the country in this....we will try so that they are punished," she said.

The court in its judgment said while Thakur had alleged ill-treatment, no evidence was presented to support her claims.

It also referred to a Supreme Court order of 2011 in which it rejected her claims of illegal custody, torture and detention. The trial court further said that Thakur had not made any complaint before the court in Nashik when she was produced for remand after her arrest.

"There is no evidence (of torture and ill-treatment) brought to my notice and hence, I am not inclined to accept the submission," judge Lahoti said.

Thakur, meanwhile, said the whole case against her was baseless.

She described Param Bir Singh, then assistant commissioner of police with the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), as a "wicked person".

"Singh, (then ATS chief) Hemant Karkare and Sukhwinder Singh tortured me and wanted me to tell lies. But I refused," she alleged.

Six people were killed and 101 were injured in a blast at Malegaon in Maharashtra's Nashik district on September 29, 2008.

The special court on July 31 acquitted Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and five others in the case noting that the prosecution had not adduced cogent and reliable evidence to warrant conviction and to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.