I had demolished Babri mosque, admits Pragya Singh Thakur, says proud of it

Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal, Pragya Singh Thakur, key accused in Malegaon terrorist attack, has admitted that she had gone to Ayodhya and demolished the Babri mosque. The Malegaon blast accused further said that she was also proud of what she did.

"Yes, I had gone there (Ayodhya), I had said it yesterday too, not denying it. I had demolished the structure. I will go there and help in the construction of Ram temple, nobody can stop us from doing that, Ram rashtra hain, rashtra Ram hain (Ram is nation, nation is Ram)," news agency ANI quoted the BJP leader as saying.

Earlier, the BJP leader had also insulted 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack hero Hemant Karkare and said that he died after she cursed him for torturing her during the interrogation of the Malegaon blast.

“I called Hemant Karkare and asked him to let me go if there is no evidence (against me). He (Karkare) said that he will bring evidence but will not leave me. I told him — You will be ruined. And within “Sava mahina” (40 days), he was killed by terrorists,” she said.

Karkare had lost his life fighting the terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 in which over 160 people were killed. He was also the Maharashtra ATS chief and carried out the investigation of the Malegaon blast.

Thakur, also known as “Sadhvi”, is facing trial in Malegaon terrorist attack in which six people were killed and dozens sustained serious injuries in an explosion in Maharashtra’s Malegaon on September 29, 2008.

In 2015, one year after the Narendra Modi government came to power, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) gave Thakur clean chit for lack of evidence. However, the trial court refused to acquit her, saying that it was difficult to accept since her motorcycle was used in the blast.

In 2017, she was granted bail by the Bombay High Court. She was also cleared of charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). She, however, remains a terror accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

In the wake of Lok Sabha elections, the Malegaon blast accused joined BJP on Wednesday. The saffron party also named her as candidate from Bhopal against Congress’ Digvijay Singh. Despite criticism for fielding a terror accused, the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended the decision.