Media trial was used as a weapon. The investigating agency pursuing the false case knew that their stand would not stand in the court. So he took to the media to create a story against us
I remember those endless nights. I write these words with deep, unresolved pain. Such a pain which time reduces but cannot erase completely. My husband, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, joined the Indian Army in 1994 and served in Military Intelligence. He was posted in various parts of the country, including a stint in Jammu and Kashmir. There he was performing responsibilities like gathering information related to security threats. Purohit was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) after the Malegaon bomb blasts in September 2008. ATS alleged that they were also part of the conspiracy. These allegations were false. His arrest shocked me. The stigma attached to terrorism charges is enormous. Even more so for an army officer. It took some time for us to accept this truth and muster the courage to fight a long legal battle. This proved to be a battle that lasted for 17 years. I never, not even for a moment, doubted his innocence. The legal struggle stretched from 2008 to 2025. Bail petitions were filed in the Supreme Court in 2011 itself. It took seven years for my petition to be heard. In 2011, the case was transferred from ATS to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). A lawyer who represented the NIA once told me, “Madam, you used to come to every hearing, but we were told not to list this case.” It was only in 2014 that things started moving forward. I was present at almost every hearing, traveling again and again, hoping that one day the truth would come out. He also came forward. The army officers who testified denied any involvement of Purohit. The police officers could not explain why they arrested him. I remember, he kept saying again and again that he was asked to do so. Purohit remained lodged as an undertrial prisoner in Taloja Central Jail for almost nine years, until he got bail from the Supreme Court in 2017–2018.
In our country, court battles go on for years, but it is only in such difficult times that you come to know who your real friends and well-wishers are. Those who knew him well were convinced that he was innocent. But there were some who enjoyed being defamed. We received support from places we never expected. The officers and soldiers who had served under or with Purohit in different deployments remained in touch. They wrote letters, made phone calls and assured him of his innocence. His loving words, repeated over the years, gave me the strength to continue the fight.
We became victims of two things, firstly unjust investigation and secondly media trial. Media trial was used as a weapon. The investigating agency pursuing the false case knew that their stand would not stand in the court. So he took the help of media to create a story against us.
The media trial was extremely painful. Even today I am searching for the answer to an important question: Who provides information to the media to write one-sided narratives? Press conferences were held, parts of the statements were shown repeatedly on TV and our private suffering was turned into a public spectacle. However, the army stood with us throughout this time. The promotion was stopped due to the pendency of the case but after some time it became of no importance. What was even more painful was that a good officer was deprived of the opportunity to perform his duty and serve the country.
On a personal level this journey was even more painful. After his arrest, I became the sole guardian of our two children. At that time our children were very small. It was only with mutual consent that we decided that our children would never go to a dark place like jail. Instead, I accompanied him to court hearings whenever possible. He missed out on growing up with his father. During those nine years Purohit was absent from school functions, festivals and family occasions. This loss cannot be compensated. After his acquittal, will we be able to relive those moments again? So the answer is no.
Jail sentence breaks a person emotionally. Jail is like a living crematorium. When a dead body reaches the crematorium, it remains just a body, stripped of all its identities. When Purohit was sent to jail, all his identities were taken away, that of a top army officer, a patriotic citizen, a dedicated professional, a loving husband and father. He remained just an undertrial, with a badge number. The man who proudly wore military uniform had to wear the uniform of undertrials. It is impossible for me to put into words what he must have felt at that time.
The prisoners in jail do not care about your identity. You just happen to be one of them. Ultimately your strength of character is what helps others understand who you really are. Prasad did not have much interaction with other prisoners. He read books most of the time. Writing a diary kept him mentally balanced. He has always been inclined towards spirituality. In jail he read Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. Discussion on philosophy has been a part of our family conversations. Turning to philosophy became his support in jail. He read many books on nature. Their freedom was taken away. He was a workaholic, but he had nothing to do in jail. They had to obtain formal permission to keep books or even simple medicines.
He often wrote letters to us from jail. He also wrote about his experiences. He shared some of his creations with me and our children. The children tried to act normal throughout the trial, but deep down they knew something terrible had happened. I remember the day he got bail in 2017–18. Our elder son was then in his first year of college. Everyone knew who his father was. His friends told him that he should be proud of his father. Maybe it was my own nervousness that scared me. In fact, people were more open and compassionate than I had imagined.
On July 31, 2025, the special NIA court in Mumbai announced its verdict. All seven accused facing trial, including Purohit and Pragya Singh Thakur, were acquitted. The court recorded that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. There was not enough and credible evidence to prove any conspiracy. The allegations related to purchase and storage of RDX also could not be proved due to lack of concrete evidence.
With this acquittal, the legal process of 17 years from arrest to final verdict finally came to an end. Purohit was released and was soon reinstated in the army. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in September 2025. Their original seniority of the intervening years was restored. He was awarded the Dattaji Shinde Award.
When he returned home to Pune, the society members welcomed him with flowers, firecrackers, posters. Neighbors who had witnessed our long struggle gathered to celebrate. This support received after years of silence and isolation was emotional.
However, these wounds will remain. Seventeen years of separation, public stigma, financial burden and emotional exhaustion do not diminish. Our children grew up without their father’s guidance. For a very long time I bore all the responsibilities alone. This experience exposed serious flaws in the system, such as long periods of undertrial detention, media coverage, lack of accountability over misuse of evidence.
For every undertrial prisoner languishing in India’s prisons for years, and for every family whose cases drag on for decades, whose homes are torn apart and whose lives are put on hold, reform is essential. Cases should be disposed of expeditiously. There should be strong accountability in the investigation. Care should be taken that laws like Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) are not misused. This change should not be an option, it should be mandatory. So that no other family has to suffer what we suffered.
We love this country unconditionally. The nation is supreme and despite shortcomings in the institutions, we finally got justice. The priests are back in service and performing their duties with the same dedication. We move forward, carrying with us the lessons learned from those difficult years, with the hope that no other family has to go through the same thing.
(More than 30 people were killed in bomb blasts near a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra, on 8 September 2006, during Ramzan. Police initially blamed Muslims, but after an NIA investigation, Hindutva militants were named as accused. Initial arrests included nine Muslim youths, but later Lokesh Sharma, Dhan Singh, Rajendra Chaudhary, Manohar Narwariya, Swami Aseemanand, Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. The names of the suspects including Colonel Prasad Purohit came out.)
