Two months after the Central Bureau of Investigation decided to "reopen and reinvestigate" the 2006 Malegoan blast case, the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court on Monday granted permission to the agency to interrogate Dayanand Pandey, an accused in the 2008 Malegoan blast.
The Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, an 89-year old largest such Islamic body in the country that issued a 'fatwa' signed by 6,000 Muslim clerics in Hyderabad ten days ago against terrorism, on Monday moved the Supreme Court for release of a large number of Muslim youths held in connections with blasts in Malegaon in 2001, 2006 and 2008.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi has rubbished allegations in the Supreme Court that Salian was pressurised by the National Investigation Agency to 'go slow' in the case.
Investigators told rediff.com that the Malegaon blasts will be the key since it is concerned to be the mother of this terror jigsaw as the breakthroughs were first made in that case.
The accused persons had approached the apex court challenging the denial of their bail,.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is mulling taking Swami Aseemanand into custody in connection with its probe in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case after the agency questioned some of the accused belonging to a right wing outfit arrested for allegedly planting bombs in Malegaon in 2008.
A bench comprising Justices J Chelameswar and A M Sapre asked the Centre and NIA to file their responses within one week.
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.
A Supreme Court judge on Friday recused from hearing a plea against removal of Special Public Prosecutor by NIA in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, saying that he had represented certain accused in the matter.
However, the certified copy of the said order was issued by the court only on May 1, 2015.
He said he's languishing in jail for nine years without even charges being framed against him.
The apex court said it has imposed certain conditions on Purohit while granting bail.
Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports on all the action that unfolded at the NIA court hearing the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
