A special court acquitted seven individuals in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, challenging the prosecution's assertion that the right-wing group Abhinav Bharat was responsible. The court emphasized that the organization remains unbanned by the government.
A witness in the 2008 Malegaon blast case claimed he was tortured and forced by the Maharashtra ATS to name Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The special court acquitted all seven accused, citing unreliable evidence and involuntary statements.
The 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, spanning nearly 17 years, was marked by changes in investigating agencies and five different judges, contributing to significant delays, according to victims and accused.
Here's the list of the seven accused who faced trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
A special court, in its acquittal order in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has highlighted a running battle between the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), pointing out stark contradictions in their probe.
A special court acquitted seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, citing a lack of cogent and reliable evidence. The court emphasized that mere suspicion cannot replace real proof and highlighted loopholes in the prosecution's case.
Nearly 17 years after a blast in Malegaon town of north Maharashtra claimed six lives, a special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the seven accused, including former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, noting there was 'no reliable and cogent evidence' against them.
The special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court on Tuesday remanded Ajay Rahirkar, accused in the September 29 Malegaon blast and the treasurer of right wing group Abhinav Bharat, to police custody till December 20. Eight other accused including prime accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur were sent to judicial custody till December 29. The prosecution had sought Rahirkar's custody on the grounds that Rahirkar transferred funds from Abhinav Bharat's treasury.
The Centre has rejected the Maharashtra government's proposal to ban right wing group Abhinav Bharat, which is accused of carrying out the bomb attack at Malegaon in 2008. The decision has been taken by the home ministry after it came to the conclusion that the group has not been involved in any terrorist or anti-national activity in recent years.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Monday demanded ban on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha and right wing group Abhinav Bharat for their alleged involvement in terrorist activities in the country.
The Abhinav Bharat President Himani Savarkar on Friday said Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad's contention that the Malegaon blast conspiracy was discussed in her presence by Lt Col Prasad Purohit in April 2008 in Bhopal, is a pack of lies.
Shyam Apte, an engineer who returned to India after spending 25 years in the United States and has been staying in Pune since the last one decade since his retirement, was grilled for three hours by ATS officials at his residence in Nav Sahyadri area of the city on Friday last. His name figured in the narco test of Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit
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.
Himani Savarkar, President of right-wing group Abhinav Bharat and a kin of freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, was aware of the conspiracy hatched to carry out "activities" in Muslim-dominated Malegaon to avenge "atrocities" against Hindus but she kept mum, police sources said. She has admitted this in a statement given to Pune unit of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, which probed the September 29 blast in the communally-sensitive power loom town, the sources said.
The Congress on Tuesday attempted to drag Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani and the saffron party into the Malegaon blast case controversy, accusing the BJP's prime ministerial candidate and the party of making the 'first political interference' in the terror case. "The internal security of the country is today threatened by two As -- Advani and Abhinav Bharat," senior party leader M Veerappa Moily told reporters.
Denying reports about her organisation's involvement, outfit's president, Himani Sarvarkar said: "This is totally shameless on the part of the government to put the blame on us. They have not been able to prevent the blasts or arrest the culprits, and now to divert attention they are putting the blame on us merely because we protect the interests of Hindus."
Among other grounds for seeking discharge, Purohit had claimed lack of sanction under relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure to prosecute him.
A witness who is a former army official turned hostile in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast trial in Mumbai on Thursday.
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.
A host of pro-Hindutva outfits, including Abhinav Bharat, organised a meeting in Pune on Sunday to raise money for the accused in the Malegaon blast case.Taking strong exception to the expression 'Hindu terrorism' being used in regard to the suspects booked by the Anti-Terrorism Squad -- Sadhvi Pragya Singh, Lt Col Shrikant Purohit and Dayanand Pandey -- Abhinav Bharat president Himani Savarkar told the gathering that the money collected would be used for the legal battles.
Venugopal said it is true that the judgment of the top court also notes the fact that Savarkar has been found not guilty of Gandhiji's murder in the criminal trial. However, if one reads the judgment as a whole, it is clear that the court was disinclined to go into the findings of the Justice Kapoor Commission of Inquiry, the AG said.
The apex court had made it clear that it would not go by "sentiments".
The hopes of Lokesh Sharma and Devender Gupta, the two Abhinav Bharat activists accused in the Mecca Masjid blast case in Hyderabad, of coming out of jail have shattered as the Andhra Pradesh high court has rejected their bail petition.
In an affidavit before the Bombay high court, the Maharashtra government has stated that it has sought a ban on right-wing outfit Sanathan Sanstha under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The state government is yet to take a decision on Abhinav Bharat, another right-wing organisation.
The apex court had on April 28 rejected Purohit's plea for urgent hearing, saying the petition will come up in regular course.
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 Bombay high court had on April 25 granted bail to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, accused of plotting the September 2008 Malegaon blast, but rejected the bail plea of co-accused Purohit saying the charges against him were of grave nature.
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 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.
NIA claims that they have evidence to show that Swami Aseemanand handed over money to execute the blast. However, there have been no breakthroughs in finding the money trail. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Notwithstanding the Centre's decision to hand over 2008 Malegaon blast probe to the National Investigation Agency, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad on Thursday filed a charge sheet alleging that Abhinav Bharat activist Praveen Mutalik was the key conspirator in the bombings that left six people dead.
Launching its probe into suspected role of right-wing groups in terror acts, a Central probe agency has taken over investigation of three blast cases -- Mecca Masjid, Ajmer Sharif and Malegaon -- in which the cadres of Abhinav Bharat are alleged to be involved.
Rajasthan Anti Terrorist Squad has pleaded in a local court that Aseemanand, an activist of right-wing Hindu group 'Abhinav Bharat', and three other accused in Ajmer Dargah blast case should not be allowed to be taken out of the state by other probe agencies because of security reasons.
Swami Aseemanand, the main accused in the Ajmer Dargah blast case, has given a sealed letter to a court in Ajmer with a request to keep its contents confidential.
Swami Aseemanand, the main accused in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, was on Thursday remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a court in Panchkula, Haryana.The counsel for the right-wing group Abhinav Bharat member said the National Investigation Agency told the court that it did not require further custody of the accused as it has completed its investigation.
The National Investigation Agency is likely to question right-wing Hindu group Abhinav Bharat member Swami Asimanand for his alleged involvement in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case.He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on November 19 for his alleged involvement in the Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad that left nine people dead. The Samjhauta train blast left 68 people dead.
With the terror trail leading to Hindu right-wing groups in 2006 Malegaon bombings, the Central Bureau of Investigation is now planning to question members of such outfits including those arrested in connection with the blasts in Maharashtra's power-loom city two years later.
The CBI arrested Aseemanand on November 19 for his alleged involvement in the Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad in which nine persons were killed. He was earlier living under a fake identity in Haridwar and had also procured fake identity cards.
The Central Bureau of Investigation recently named former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist Sunil Joshi as an accused in the Mecca Masjid and Ajmer blast cases. Joshi was shot dead by three unknown assailants on December 29, 2007.Joshi and his accomplices believed that the minority community will be blamed for the blast, and would face massive police crackdown as a consequence.The plan was reportedly finalised by group in Madhya Pradesh.
He said he's languishing in jail for nine years without even charges being framed against him.
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