Malegaon blast case: Lt Col Purohit gets warm welcome as he returns home in Pune after acquittal

Many members of the housing society, where Purohit resides, also came out to greet him with flowers and waved saffron flags.

Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, one of the seven accused acquitted by a court in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, was accorded a grand welcome by his family members and supporters on his return home in Pune on Sunday.

A special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted Purohit, former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and five others, nearly 17 years after a blast in Malegaon town in Nashik district of north Maharashtra claimed six lives. While acquitting them, the court noted that there was "no reliable and cogent evidence" against them.

As Purohit returned to Pune on Sunday, his friends, family members, supporters, members of various right-wing organisations and others gathered outside the Shantisheela Housing Society located on the Law College Road, where he lives, to give him a rousing welcome and to celebrate his acquittal in the case.

A procession was taken out with Purohit riding an open jeep, accompanied by his wife, amid the beating of 'dhol-tasha' (traditional drums) and showering of flower petals.'

Those who took part in the procession also raised "Jai Shree Ram" and "Sanatan dharm ki jai" slogans hailing his acquittal, and expressed happiness over what they termed as the end of a long legal battle.

Many members of the housing society, where Purohit resides, also came out to greet him with flowers and waved saffron flags.

Speaking on the occasion, Purohit said, "I am extremely happy that I was given such a grand welcome. My entire family is waiting for me at this place. My whole family has come here; I grew up here...All these people have come here to meet me." An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008 killing six persons and injuring 101 others.

While acquitting all the seven accused, special judge A K Lahoti flagged several loopholes in the prosecution's case and the investigation carried out, and said the accused persons deserved the benefit of doubt. PTI COR NP