Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit (file photo)

New Delhi: Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, acquitted last year in the Malegaon blast case, has been approved for promotion to the rank of brigadier, sources said on Friday. In July 2025, an NIA court acquitted Purohit and six others, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, in the case.Purohit had moved the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) after his acquittal and claimed that the prolonged trial had “adversely impacted” his career progress. He argued that the delay in the judicial process denied him a fair opportunity for promotion within the army hierarchy.Also read: Who is Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit? The military officer who faced terrorism charges and was released after being acquitted by the courtLast month, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) put your retirement on holdHis petition seeking promotion and related service benefits was scheduled to be heard on March 31. The tribunal directed the Defense Ministry to put his retirement on hold until his statutory complaint is decided.At the time of his arrest in November 2008, Purohit was serving as a lieutenant colonel in military intelligence – the first case of a serving army officer being implicated in a terrorism-related case in the country.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 Bhikku Chowk area of ​​Malegaon, Maharashtra, killing six people and injuring 95 others.Originally, 11 people were accused in the case; However, the court ultimately framed charges against seven.This case was handed over from Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011. The 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.Those acquitted along with Purohit and Thakur included Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni.(With ANI inputs)