Mumbai: Less than two months after being acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit has been promoted to the rank of Colonel by the Indian Army. Purohit was one of the seven accused in the case, alongside former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pragya Singh Thakur, who were acquitted by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court.

Special Judge A.K. Lahoti, while acquitting the accused, observed that though there was “grave suspicion” against them, the prosecution had failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court stated, “A grave degree of suspicion is established, but not enough to convict the accused persons. Hence, the court has given them the benefit of doubt.”

The NIA, which had earlier indicated it would seek legal

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