Was tortured, coerced to take Modi’s name: Pragya Thakur’s claim post‑Malegaon verdict -

Days after a special NIA court acquitted Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and six others in connection with the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, she made explosive allegations against the Maharashtra Anti‑Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the then UPA government

She claimed she was tortured during interrogation, and repeatedly coerced:
“Name these people then we won’t beat you” — namely Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, and others.
She said she was illegally detained for around 13 days, undergoing physical torture over 24 days, leading to severe health issues including ruptured lung membrane and unconsciousness. She claimed she continued in hospital custody without legal validation.
Pragya stated she has submitted in writing the names she was forced to take and plans to present her full account in an upcoming story or memoir.
She accused the Congress‑led UPA government of orchestrating a politically motivated conspiracy to fabricate the ‘saffron terror’ narrative, aiming to defame Hindutva, the RSS, and armed forces

A key witness, Milind Joshirao, also testified that ATS officers pressured him to name Yogi Adityanath and other RSS members under threats of torture. Judge A.K. Lahoti identified such statements as possibly involuntary and coerced.
The court further noted discrepancies and insufficiencies in evidence and dismissed pleas by ATS officers, with one ex-officer (Mehboob Mujawar) corroborating attempts to frame RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat by senior ATS command to support a “saffron terror” angle.
Despite Pragya’s torture claims, the court also stated that no formal complaints were filed during her remand or when she was presented before a magistrate, and existing allegations of ill‑treatment were dismissed due to lack of documentation, echoing prior measures including a 2011 Supreme Court decision

Overall Observations

Pragya Thakur’s statements are being reported across multiple outlets including India Today, NDTV, Moneycontrol, Economic Times, and Hindustan Times — all today or in the past 1–2 days
While her allegations paint a troubling picture of coercion, the judicial process did not validate the torture claims due to lack of contemporaneous documentation.
Her narrative is part of a broader ideological discourse framing the case as a purported attempt to target “saffron” institutions.