Indian Army Clears Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit for Promotion to Brigadier Rank

Key facts

• The Indian Army has cleared Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit for promotion to the rank of Brigadier.
• The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) stayed the retirement of the officer, which was scheduled for 31 March 2026, pending a decision on his statutory complaint.
• The Mumbai National Investigation Agency (NIA) court acquitted the officer and six others on 31 July in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
• The other individuals acquitted alongside the officer include former MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi, and Sameer Kulkarni.
• The Malegaon blast incident occurred on 29 September 2008 in Maharashtra, resulting in six deaths and 95 injuries.
• The investigation was transferred from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to the NIA in 2011.