Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, alleges torture by investigating officers and pressure to implicate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other prominent figures.
A Special NIA court in Mumbai has reserved the judgment in the 2008 Malegaon blast case for July 31. The court said the case has voluminous documents and needs time to deliver the verdict. The blast, which occurred in September 2008, killed six people and injured over 100. Seven accused, including Lt Col Prasad Purohit and BJP leader Pragya Thakur, are facing trial in the case.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leaders said the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case was a "slap on the face" of people who coined the term "saffron terror".
The prosecution has proved the entire chain that connected the accused with each other for achieving the goal of executing the bomb blast and perform terrorist acts, the written statement, filed by the intervenor for the victims, said.
The Bombay High Court has extended the tenure of special NIA judge A K Lahoti, who is conducting trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, till August 31. Lahoti's name featured in the annual transfer list of judges, issued earlier by the registrar general of the high court. The transfer order was to come into effect after the reopening of courts on June 9 following summer vacation. However, a fresh notification mentioned that Lahoti's tenure has been stayed till August 31, enabling him to pass the verdict in the case that is in the final stage of trial.
A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Justice Vikram Nath noted that as of now 246 witnesses have been examined.
The judicial custody of Lt Col Prasad Purohit, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast, was on Monday extended till February 21 by a court in Nashik, in a case of procuring arms license on fake documents. The army officer was produced before Judge V V Joshi as his remand in the arms license case ended on Monday, Purohit's counsel Avinash Bhide told PTI.
Special NIA court judge AK Lahoti, conducting trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has been transferred to Nashik just days before the court was likely to reserve the matter for judgement. The transfer order, issued by the registrar general of the Bombay High Court, will come into effect on June 9. The order directs the judge to finish judgments in all cases where hearing has concluded and to dispose of part-heard cases before handing over charge. In the last hearing on Saturday, judge Lahoti directed the prosecution and defense to wrap up the remaining arguments by April 15 and was expected to reserve the matter for judgement the following day, a defense lawyer said.
A special court in India has reserved its verdict in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, which killed six people and injured over 100. The trial began nearly 17 years after the bombing in the town of Malegaon, located in Maharashtra. The prosecution concluded its final arguments on Saturday, marking the end of the hearings. Seven individuals, including Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit and BJP leader Pragya Thakur, are facing charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The verdict is expected to be delivered on May 8th.
The special MCOCA court on Tuesday directed the state to file its reply to the allegations of physical torture levelled by sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Purohit and others accused in the Malegaon blast case
The recent revelations made in the Army Court of Inquiry favouring Lt Colonel S P Purohit have put the National Investigating agency in a spot of bother with regard to its investigation into the involvement of right-wing terror groups in the Malegaon blasts case.
"I want to wear my uniform. It is outermost layer of my skin. I am wedded to it. I am very happy to get back into the service of the best organisation in the country if not the world, the Indian Army," said Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit.
A police official said they were verifying the details but no First Information Report has been registered yet.
He had not played any role in the blast, Purohit had said, adding that he was in jail for the last seven years without trial.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its order restraining the National Investigation Agency from interrogating 2008 Malegaon blast accused Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi till further direction.
The agency has booked 23 Army personnel and civilians, including relatives of officers, for allegedly demanding bribe and facilitating bribery, they said.
Army officer Lt Col Prasad Purohit, arrested for his alleged involvement in the Malegaon blast, was on Wednesday remanded to police custody till November 29 by a court in Nashik in connection with a case of procuring an arms license using fake documents
Malegaon blast accused Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit was not authorised to infiltrate into any right wing group including 'Abhinav Bharat' as a military intelligence officer, army officials said on Wednesday rejecting his claims in this regard.
The bench, however, granted Purohit the liberty to raise his contentions before the trial court and said it is not expressing any opinion on his petition.
The bench refused Purohit's request for staying the proceedings in the trial court, noting that in the past, both the Supreme Court and the Bombay HC had passed orders directing the trial court to expedite the hearing in the case.
Thakur had appeared before the court in June last year after it ordered the seven accused to remain present once a week. She later sought exemption from appearance on various occasions since then.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik has alleged that an Indian Army officer linked to the 2007 bombing of the trans-border Samjhauta Express train had hired Pakistan-based militants to carry out the attack.
The army has ordered a departmental inquiry by a three-member team led by a brigadier-level officer into the activites of Lt Col S P Purohit arrested for his alleged involvement in Malegaon blasts.
The NIA has recorded the statement of the owner of a hotel in Panchmarhi in this regard.
Kabir was seen clinging to the tricolour-wrapped coffin of his father. He bowed before his father's body just before cremation.
Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.
Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.
The Congress on Friday termed the National Investigation Agecy's decision to drop all charges against Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was a vindication of the disclosure made by former special public prosecutor.
It discharged three accused -- Shyam Sahu, Shivnarayan Kalsangra and Praveen Takalki -- from the case.
Triggering controversy over capital punishment to Yakub Memon in Mumbai blasts case, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday sought to know whether the perpetrators of demolition of disputed structure in Ayodhya, communal riots of Mumbai and Gujarat and other such sensational cases would get a similar punishment.
During investigation, 'sufficient evidences have not been found against' Pragya Singh Thakur and five others, the NIA said, adding it has submitted in the chargesheet 'that the prosecution against them is not maintainable'.
Thakur, seated in the witness box, got visibly emotional at one point and the proceedings were halted for ten minutes.
The ATS official was cross-examined by Thakur's lawyer during the day's proceedings.
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai on Wednesday issued a bailable warrant against an officer of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for not appearing before it in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
As per information available, more than 100 witnesses are yet to be examined.
A witness who is a former army official turned hostile in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast trial in Mumbai on Thursday.
A special NIA court in Mumbai conducting trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case on Tuesday directed all the seven accused, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, to appear before it on December 3.
Disposing of the plea on August 1, special judge AK Lahoti, however, noted the contentions raised by the accused are kept open and he is at liberty to point them out at the time of final hearing.
The victims of the 2008 Malegaon blast case have written to the chief justice and registrar of Bombay high court requesting them to extend the tenure of special NIA judge PR Sitre, who has been presiding over the trial since August 2020.
While five accused remained present in the court, judge P R Sitre expressed displeasure over the absence of two others. The court then directed all the seven accused to appear before it on January 4.
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