The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Saffron terror a Cong conspiracy, says Pragya
2008 MALEGAON BLAST ACCUSED RELEASED ON BAIL
SADHVI PRAGYA Singh Thakur, a keyaccusedinthemalegaonblast case,thursdaysaid“saffronterror” wasa“bigconspiracy”hatchedby thecongressgovernmentin2008.
“Congress wrote the script of bhagwa atankwad (saffron terror) and they wanted to prove it through me. They prepared a kahani (tale). They tried their best to eliminate me,’’ she said after her release on bail in the afternoon.
Pragya was in judicial custody and undergoing treatment at a government ayurvedic college in Bhopalforthelasttwo-and-a-half years. After being taken into custody from Surat in 2008 by the Maharashtra ATS in connection withthemalegaoncase,shespent thelastfewyearseitherinjail,hospital or court, except for a dip in the Kshipra during Simhastha Kumbha in 2016.
“Belatedly, though, the court heard me for justice and gave me a chance for better medical attention,’’ Pragya told the media.
Insisting that she was innocentandwouldbeprovedso,pragya accused former Home Minister P Chidambaram of creating the bogey of saffron terror. “Jo vidharmi hote hai unke liye bhagwa atankwadhihotahai.wedartehai, aur darna bhi chahiye... rakshasi vrutti ke liye ye ek hathiyar hai (For heretics, saffron is terror. They are and should be scared of it. For satanic tendencies it is a weapon),’’ she said of the Congress leader.
She alleged that former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, ATS officer Arun Khanvilkar and others tortured her and broke her physically and mentally. “I am a sanyasi, they could not break my soul. It’s intact.”
About the present regime,
Pragya said, “At least it will not conspire and will attempt to do justice.” She was responding to a questiononwhetherthepresent government facilitated her release. Asked about NIA’S role, she said, “The agency does its work and brings results. It’s before you.”