Who is Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, BJP's pick against Digvijay Singh in Bhopal?

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was arrested in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, but was given a clean chit by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. File Image

New Delhi: Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party earlier today has been fielded by the party as its Lok Sabha candidate against Congress veteran Digvijay Singh in the Bhopal parliamentary constituency. Sadhvi Pragya is a female Hindu Sanyasin and a controversial public figure known for her provocative speeches.  She came to limelight after her arrest for Malegaon blasts in 2008. She was arrested in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, but was given a clean chit by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), but the trial court refused to discharge her from the case. The court dropped the charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against her, and she is now being tried under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. She was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in 2017. On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and over 100 injured when a bomb fitted on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon in north Maharashtra. According to the prosecution, it was the handiwork of a Hindu extremist group. Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, was born in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh. She has had a long association with the Sangh Parivar. Her father was also associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Sadhvi  Pragya is a post-graduate in history.  She worked with the RSS' student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Durga Vahini, women's wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Her rival in the Lok Sabha election, Digvijay Singh had raised the bogey of “saffron terror” and expressed grave doubts over Batla House encounter and death of anti-terror squad chief Hemant Karkare during the 26/11 Mumbai attack.