Congress had raised the red herring of ‘saffron terror’ for their votebank politics discrediting the entire community. It was not just a blatant lie but also an attempt to malign Hindus to hide the inefficiencies of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Today Congress’ ‘saffron terror’ plot lies in shambles as the Special NIA (National Investigation Agency) court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case.

Special NIA court acquits all seven 2008 Malegaon blasts accused

A special NIA court in Mumbai has acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, including BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit. After nearly 17 years of trial, the court found that the prosecution had failed to establish any concrete evidence linking the accused to the bombing. The blast occurred on 29 September 2008 when a bomb attached to a motorcycle had exploded near a mosque in Maharashtra’s Malegaon.

The court concluded that there was no proof that Lt. Col. Purohit had procured RDX from Jammu and Kashmir or had assembled the bomb. Similarly, claims that the motorcycle used in the blast belonged to Sadhvi Pragya Thakur were dismissed due to lack of verifiable engine and chassis numbers. Moreover, the court noted that she had given up all worldly possessions two years prior to the incident, further weakening the claim of her ownership.

The alleged meetings of the accused in Bhopal and Nashik to plan the attack were also found to be uncorroborated by witnesses. Financial transactions supposedly used to fund terrorist activities through the organization Abhinav Bharat were never proven. The judge emphasized that mere suspicion, no matter how strong, cannot replace actual proof when it comes to criminal convictions.

In his verdict, Special Judge A.K. Lahoti made it clear that the evidence provided by the Maharashtra ATS and later by the NIA was neither reliable nor sufficient. Sadhvi Pragya, reacting to the judgment, expressed relief and said the case had ruined her life, adding that the verdict exposed the falsehood of the saffron terror narrative. Lt. Col. Purohit also expressed gratitude and reiterated his commitment to the nation, calling the ordeal a long and traumatic experience.

The judgment has sparked nationwide discussion over the misuse of anti-terror laws, and the communalization of terror cases. Shouldn’t the Congress be held responsible for using the fake saffron terror narrative for its political agenda and ruining the lives of Sadhvi Pragya, Lt. Col Purohit and other accused?

How Congress tried to malign Hindu Samaj using the ‘saffron terror’ plot

The ‘saffron terror’ red herring was Congress’ way of whitewashing Islamic terrorism just like Sharad Pawar did by inventing an extra bomb blast to give the terrorists a clean chit, although he claimed he did so to ensure ‘peace’ and water down the anger of Hindus. One cannot forget how the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government attempted to present the 26/11 terror attack as ‘RSS ki Saazish‘ (an RSS conspiracy). Unfortunately for UPA, Kasab was caught alive, and their plans fell apart.

UPA government made multiple attempts to raise the saffron terror bogey. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) gave Sadhvi Pragya a clean chit in the Malegaon case, which the UPA government attempted to use for their ‘saffron terror’ propaganda. Last October, Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde, who was the Home Minister in the UPA government, admitted that adding ‘Atankwad’ as a suffix to ‘Bhagwa’ was a mistake.

‘Saffron terrorism’ bogey was created not just to give Islamic terrorism a free run but also to gaslight Hindus. Sadhvi Pragya and Col Purohit were subject to the most inhuman torture just because Congress had a political point to score. “Many reports and statements by former bureaucrats had pointed out that Lt Col Purohit was maliciously framed, with planted ‘evidence’ by the former UPA government to fan the imaginary ‘saffron terror’ narrative and distract the public from the scams of the Congress-led government,” reported OpIndia.

Not just Sadhvi Pragya and Colonel Purohit but there was a failed attempt to frame other leaders of the Sangh Parivar (RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal, and BJP). It is noteworthy that in 2017, one of the accused in the Malegaon blast case, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, informed the NIA court that the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had attempted to falsely implicate then BJP MP Yogi Adityanath and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat under pressure from the then Congress-NCP government.

Further, in 2021, a witness in the case made similar allegations against the Maharashtra ATS. The witness stated before the Special NIA Court that he had been illegally detained, tortured, and threatened by ATS officials. He claimed he was forced to name five senior members of RSS, including Yogi Adityanath, Indresh Kumar, Deodhar, and Kakaji, as part of a fabricated conspiracy.

Former Home Secretary RVS Mani in his book The Myth of Hindu Terror: Insider Account of Ministry of Home Affairs has detailed how Congress created the myth of ‘Saffron terror’ or ‘Hindu terror’ for its political agenda and to shield its terrorist masters in Pakistan. As HinduPost had pointed out earlier, Col Purohit appears to have rubbed certain UPA politicians the wrong way owing to his intelligence inputs.

He had built a highly effective intelligence network and was likely collecting information that surpassed the expectations of many within both the military and political circles. While the full truth may never come to light, it is reasonable to speculate that one of his intelligence findings, such as exposing the fake currency network, revealing the deep infiltration of our institutions by Dawood and the ISI, or uncovering links between Kashmiri terrorists and certain politicians, is likely to have triggered his arrest in this case.

Sadhvi Pragya detailed the horrors she was subjected to ‘extract the confession’ Congress needed for its ‘saffron terror’ narrative. That some Maharashtra ATS officers were complicit is a matter of shame and grave concern at the same time.

However, with today’s verdict not just Colonel Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya, and the other five accused but the entire Hindu Samaj has been freed of the mythical ‘saffron terror’ or ‘Hindutva terror‘ narrative which was only a political tool of the Congress and its allies to malign Hindus in an attempt to whitewash Islamic terrorism. Today, more than the Congress those HINOs (Hindus in Name Only) who vote for the INDI alliance should introspect and course-correct if they have even an iota of conscience.

Like Home Minister Amit Shah said, “A Hindu can never be a terrorist” and even the Congress knew this, hence it resorted to lies and other unholy means to create the ‘saffron terror’ myth. However, truth ultimately triumphs and it has exposed the Congress’ Hindu hate in the process. Time for Hindu Samaj to wake up, smell the coffee and ensure Congress pays for its sin of its fake saffron terror narrative for votebank politics.

(Featured Image Source: Jansatta)