Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, recently acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case , has been promoted to the rank of Colonel. His wife, Aparna Purohit, confirmed the promotion on Thursday.

The development comes just weeks after a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court cleared Purohit and six others of all charges in the blasts that killed six people and injured nearly 100 in Malegaon, Maharashtra.

In its verdict, the court said there was no reliable evidence to prove Purohit’s alleged role in bringing RDX or assembling the bomb. It also observed that “mere suspicion cannot take the place of real proof” and criticised lapses in the investigation.

Purohit, who was arrested in 2008 and spent nearly nine years in jail before securing bail, had maintained that he was working

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