Pragya was tortured to brand Hindus as terrorists: BJP leader

BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has alleged that Pragya Singh Thakur who is an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case was arrested and tortured in order to build a case against her and brand Hindus as terrorists. Pragya is BJP candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency. National Investigation Agency gave a clean chit to Thakur in 2016 but the trial court refused to discharge her.

Indore:BJP general secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya claimed on Friday that during UPA regime, religious workers and leaders like Pragya Singh Thakur were tortured in an attempt to prove that Hindus were terrorists.

Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, is the BJP's candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency.

"The kind of allegations and oppression Sadhvi Pragya faced is rarely seen in our history after Independence. The torment she faced has deeply affected her," Vijaywargiya told media here.

"Pragya and others were subjected to torture, especially at the instance of people like Digvijay Singh (her Congress rival in Bhopal constituency) and (then Union minister) P Chidambaram, to prove Hindus as terrorists," he said.

"The court rejected charges related to Hindu terrorism levelled during the Congress regime," he claimed.

"People's court is the biggest court. I feel this Bhopal Lok Sabha election would be about whether the Hindus are a terrorist community or not," the BJP leader said.

Six persons were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Thakur and others, claiming that they were part of a Hindu extremist group which carried out the blast.

The National Investigation Agency, in 2016, gave a clean chit to Thakur, but the trial court refused to discharge her and she is facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.