Religious leader Dayanand Pandey, arrested in connection with the Malegaon blast, has confessed to his involvement in the September 29 explosion that killed six persons, a senior police official said on Tuesday. "Pandey has confessed to his involvement in the Malegaon blast. We have taken all precautions to ensure that his confession is admissible in the court," Additional Commissioner of Police (Anti-Terrorism Squad) Parambir Singh told PTI.
Having arrested a serving army officer and a retired Major in connection with Malegaon blast, Mumbai police and central security agencies are probing the role of some more members of the armed forces, including another high-ranking official, for funding the incident.
Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports on all the action that unfolded at the NIA court hearing the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
Special NIA Judge V S Padalkar said conducting the trial in a "transparent manner" was among the reasons for rejecting the NIA's plea.
Shinde had retained most of the sitting MLAs, who chose to be with him when he led the rebellion two years ago. They delivered for him on Saturday when votes for the state polls were counted.
Dr Ram Puniyani, member of the EKTA, Committee for Communal Amity, Mumbai, speaks about the arrests of Muslim youth in Maharashtra.
A special court on Tuesday allowed the National Investigation Agency to take custody of three key accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case for further interrogation from July 22 for eight days.
One person was killed and six people injured in an explosion in Modasa town of Gujarat's Sabarkantha district on Monday night.
Over a thousand people, including women and children, were admitted to government and private hospitals in powerloom town of Malegaon in Nashik following complaints of fever, a senior official said Wednesday.
The nine are accused of carrying out four serial blasts in Malegaon on September 8, 2006, in which 31 people were killed and 312 injured.
The Anti-Terrorist Squad on Sunday arrested Raees Ahmed for his complicity in the September 8 blasts in Malegaon that killed 31 people.
The probe is being carried out by the local police with the help of Anti-Terrorist Squad and Central intelligence agencies.
Exactly a year after the Malegaon blast shook the powerloom town in Maharashtra leaving seven people dead, one of the surviving victims has revealed that he had alerted the local police about an abandoned scooter, but no action had been taken.
Retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, on Monday filed his nomination from Bairia Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh through his son Vishal.
The Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Sqaud investigating the Malegaon blasts case questioned Abhinav Bharat president Himani Savarkar for over three hours on Sunday. Almost all those accused arrested in connection with Malegaon blast are affiliated to the organisation, sources said. Savarkar, who has been head the outfit since April, was questioned at the ATS cell in Pune and was told that she could be summoned again if required.
Hindu extremist groups who carried out blasts the 2006 Malegaon blasts misled disguised as Muslims wearing fake beards to mislead investigators and avenge the minority community. Vicky Nanjappa reports
A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court in Mumbai on Monday granted custody of Sameer Kulkarni, one of the founder-members of right-wing group Abhinav Bharat, to the Madhya Pradesh police while remanding ten Malegaon blast accused to judicial custody till January 6.The MP police had sought the custody of Kulkarni, also accused in the September 29 Malegaon blast case, for allegedly instigating a mob to attack a church in Jabalpur and setting it on fire.
Apparently distancing itself from the Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur episode, the Hindu Mahasabha has said it does not support terrorism by anyone and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of encashing on Hindu sentiments by coming out in support of the Malegaon blast accused."The BJP is encashing on religious sentiments of Hindus again for their politics. Earlier they had encashed on the Ram janmabhoomi issue and this time it wants to encash on Malegaon," the ABHM said.
Two members of the Mumbai ATS -- Inspector Vakhade and Assistant Inspector Sayyad -- had arrived in Mangalore city on Friday to interrogate Muthalik. The decision to interrogate Muthalik was taken following the statements of Lt Colonel Purohit (Malegaon blast prime accused). "I don't think the ATS has anything against me," he told media persons outside the court, adding, "I also don't think I will be arrested."
The ATS team was sent to probe the blast at Malegaon's Bhikhu Chowk area late Monday night, Joint Commissioner of Police (ATS) Hemant Karkare said.
Lieutenant-Colonel Srikant Purohit,one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon case has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, alleging that the Maharashtra Anti Terrorrism Squad has fabricated the case against him.
The ghosts of Malegaon blast are still haunting the Congress at the textile mill town. After a losing streak in the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections, the Congress again lost in the mayor elections for the Malegaon Municipal Corporation held on Tuesday morning.
The National Investigation Agency on Saturday made its first arrest in connection with Maharashtra's 2006 Malegaon bombing after the role of right-wing groups came to the fore with the nabbing of Swami Aseemanand last year.
Nine Muslim men, who were arrested in the 2006 Malegaon blasts and in jail for the past four years, on Monday moved a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court seeking bail citing Swami Aseemanand's confession pointing to a right-wing group's involvement in the attack that killed 36 persons.
The NIA had also not opposed her bail application.
The National Investigation Agency has accused the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad of planting evidence and coercing witnesses, but its own investigation is incomplete and leaves many questions unanswered.
The Central Bureau of Investigation got the nod to re-investigate the 2006 Malegaon case on Thursday. The decision by the MCOCA court throws open a lot of questions regarding the earlier investigation and the CBI now has its task cut out since it will not only have to deal with the new set of accused but also with the nine other accused who have been languishing in jail ever since the attack took place.
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai on Monday issued a bailable warrant against Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, for failing to appear before it despite repeated warnings.
All the 11 accused in Malegaon blast case, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, were today remanded to judicial custody till January 20 by a special MCOCA court here.
Terming "false and malafide" the media reports of his involvement in the Malegaon blast, VHP leader Pravin Togadia on Monday threatened to take legal action for dragging his name into the case.
In a sensational claim, a suspended Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad officer has told a Solapur court that two of the absconding accused in 2008 Malegaon blasts case are in fact dead but falsely shown as "alive" by high ranking police officers.
The four accused had applied for bail in February earlier this year. The 2006 Malegaon case comprised of two sets of accused.
The NIA's chargesheet in the 2006 Malegaon blasts mocks the investigation conducted by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad into the matter, reports Vicky Nanjappa
Amid reports that Pakistan may seek extradition of Malegaon blast accused Lieuteant Colonel Shrikant Purohit in the Samjhauta Express blast case, India on Tuesday virtually rejected the demand, saying Islamabad had no locus standi in the investigations involving the Army officer."The case (Malegaon blast) is under examination by the Anti-Terror Squad (of Maharashtra Police). It is our internal matter. We are investigating it. How can Pakistan be concerned with that,"he said.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram recently declared that the National Investigation Agency will not oppose the bail pleas of the nine Muslim youths arrested in connection with the 2006 Malegaon blasts. Toral Varia analyses the reasons behind this decision and what are the new leads being explored by the NIA.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram recently declared that the National Investigation Agency will not oppose the bail pleas of the nine Muslim youths arrested in connection with the 2006 Malegaon blasts. Toral Varia analyses the reasons behind this decision and what are the new leads being explored by the NIA.
The Mumbai ATS is interrogating a junior commissioned officer and two jawans of the Indian Army in connection with the Malegaon blast case, defence sources have said.
A former Colonel is now being probed by the ATS for alleged links with the Malegaon blast prime accused Lt Col S P Purohit and may have extended help in training cadres of Abhinav Bharat, a little-known right wing group suspected to be involved in the conspiracy.
Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad is considering pressing charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against all the nine accused in the Malegaon blast case, including Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.The ATS is investigating transfer of funds from the bank account of Lt. Col. Purohit, the first serving army officer to be arrested in the case, to Rahirkar and others for execution of the alleged conspiracy.
