My daughter is innocent, says Sadhvi Pragya's mother

MUMBAI: Mother of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, prime accused in the September 2008 Malegaon blast case, today said that her daughter had been "falsely implicated" and was "innocent".

"My daughter cannot even kill a worm and this is not what is taught to her. She cannot not commit any such act," Sarla Devi, who came to meet her daughter at the women's jail in Byculla here, told reporters.

"The Congress government has put her in jail. Why was my daughter subjected to such hardships?," she asked.

While speaking to reporters here, Sarla Devi also said that even though her daughter was unwell, the government is not doing anything.

" Maharashtra government is not doing anything (for the treatment)," she said.

"I have written a letter to the President and the National Human Rights Commission. But I have not got any reply so far," she added.

Twelve persons, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, were arrested for carrying out blast at Malegaon on September 29, 2008, killing six persons and injuring 100 others.

The accused have been booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), besides the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The trial is yet to commence, as some of the accused have challenged the invocation of MCOCA in the case before the Supreme Court, which is pending.