Terrorism was never saffron, never will be: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis reacts to Pragya Thakur's acquittal in Malegaon blast case

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 killing six persons and injuring 101 others.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday hailed the acquittal of Malegaon blast case accused Pragya Thakur and others and said that "terrorism was never saffron and will never be".

The Maharashtra CM's reaction came after a special NIA court in Mumbai acquitted all the seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in the town on September 29, 2008 which killed six persons and injured 101 others.

The special court acquitted all the seven accused in the case, noting there was "no reliable and cogent evidence" against them.

"Terrorism was never saffron, is not and will never be," Fadnavis posted on X.

Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde refused to comment on the verdict.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Krishna Hegde said his party welcomes the NIA court judgement acquitting all the seven accused, including Thakur and Purohit.

Meanwhile, the families of the victims of the Malegaon bomb blast have decided to move the Bombay High Court against the order of the NIA Special Court.

“The investigating agency has kept deliberate lapses in investigations and deliberately not collected sufficient evidence and filed defective chargesheet," lawyer-activist Nitin Satpute said.