Army clears Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, acquitted in Malegaon blasts case, for promotion: Report | India News
New Delhi: Lt Col Prasad Srikant Purohit, acquitted in the Malegaon blast case last year, has been cleared for promotion to the rank of Brigadier, sources said on Friday. In July 2025, an NIA court acquitted six people, including the priest and former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, in the case.Purohit approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) after his acquittal, claiming that his career progress had been “adversely affected” by the prolonged trial. He argued that the delay in the judicial process had deprived him of a fair chance of promotion within the army hierarchy.Also read: Who is Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit? The army officer who faced terror charges and was acquitted by the court was acquittedLast month, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) His retirement is deferredwhich was on March 31, during the hearing of his application for promotion and related service benefits. The defense ministry has ordered the suspension of his retirement until the tribunal decides on his statutory complaint.At the time of his arrest in November 2008, Purohit was serving as a lieutenant colonel in the military intelligence division – marking the country’s first instance of a serving army officer being implicated in a terror-related case.He spent nearly nine years in custody before being granted bail by the Supreme Court in September 2017.
Malegaon blast
The blast occurred on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque in the Bhikku Chowk area of Malegaon, Maharashtra, killing six and injuring 95.11 people were originally accused in the case; However, the court finally framed charges against seven people.The case was handed over from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011. Investigators examined hundreds of witnesses over nearly 17 years before acquitting all the accused of charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and other provisions.Besides Purohit and Tagore, those acquitted were Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni.(with ANI input)
