Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, received a grand welcome upon his return to Pune. Supporters celebrated his acquittal after a special court noted a lack of reliable evidence against him.
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
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.
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.
For the first time a serving army officer was accused of terrorism.
The comedian has failed to appear before the Mumbai police for questioning despite three summons issued to him.
Hingoli MP Hemant Patil submitted his resignation to the Lok Sabha secretariat in New Delhi on Monday, while Nashik MP Hemant Godse sent his resignation letter to CM Shinde.
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.
Squadron Leader Lokendra Singh Sindhu, an Indian Air Force pilot killed in a Jaguar fighter jet crash, had recently become a father. His family in Haryana was in celebration mode before the tragedy. He leaves behind his wife and a month-old son.
Such meetings are routine, the former state home minister added.
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 Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra failed to appear before Khar police in Mumbai on Monday in connection with a case registered against him for his "traitor" jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. A police team visited his Mahim "home" to check his availability, but he wasn't there. Kamra later took a jibe at the police, saying the visit was a waste of time and public resources as he had not been living there for the past 10 years. This was the second time Kamra was summoned by the police. Kamra has been granted interim anticipatory bail by the Madras High Court on the condition that he executes a bond in Tamil Nadu, where he currently resides. The case stems from a video lampooning Shinde over the split in the Shiv Sena, which led to Shiv Sainiks ransacking the studio where the video was shot and the hotel where it is located.
Local people prevented the police from reaching the site immediately after the blast and it could have been done to shield the accused, said Thakur's lawyer, advocate JP Mishra.
Shiv Sena functionary Rahool Kanal has claimed that BookMyShow has removed stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra from its platform following protests from the party. Kanal, the social media in-charge of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, thanked BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani for "keeping its portal clean and keeping such artist out of the list of pure entertainment." BookMyShow has not commented on the matter. Kanal was booked along with Shiv Sainiks for allegedly vandalising the studio where Kamra had performed and alluded to Shinde while making a traitor jibe, which snowballed into a major row.
Salim Zarda, a 55-year-old life convict in the 2002 Godhra train carnage case, was arrested in Pune district for theft. Zarda, who had previously jumped parole on eight occasions, was arrested on January 22 by Pune rural police. He was handed over to Nashik police in connection with a theft case registered there. Zarda was among the 31 persons convicted in the Godhra train carnage case. He was released on parole on September 17, 2024, but failed to return.
Terming as 'unfortunate' the January 29 stampede at Maha Kumbh where at least 30 people were killed, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) for guidelines over safety of devotees and asked the petitioner to move the Allahabad high court instead.
Jayant Naiknavare, who took over as the Nashik commissioner of police last week, has cancelled the order given by his predecessor Deepak Pandey over loudspeakers.
Three separate cases have been filed against Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra at Khar police station over his alleged controversial remarks about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande warned that it would impose costs on the authorities for denying parole only on the ground that Baig had been convicted of terror charges.
The BJP and Shiv Sena, which along with Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party comprise the ruling Mahayuti, for some time now have been courting Thackeray, who founded the MNS in 2006.
'Let Fadnavisji prove to the people of Maharashtra that he acts fairly against one and all.'
The notice was issued under Section 41 of the CrPC, a police official said.
"It is just that Fadnavis and I have swapped our chairs. Only Ajit Pawar's chair is fixed," said Shinde, who was the CM before the assembly elections with Fadnavis and Pawar as his deputies then.
A man and his son allegedly hacked their neighbour to death in Maharashtra's Nashik district and later went to the local police with the victim's severed head to surrender, an official said on Thursday.
A team of Agniveers was firing a field gun when one of the shells exploded, the official said, adding the duo sustained injuries and were taken to the military hospital at Deolali, where they were pronounced dead.
'Shivaji and Sambhaji followed the gospel of humanity. 'They did not discriminate based on religion, caste, or colour.' 'That is the beauty of Shivaji and Sambhaji's Hindvi Swaraj.'
With a court cancelling the bail granted to three men arrested for allegedly assaulting an elderly man in an express train on the suspicion of carrying beef in Maharashtra's Nashik, the Government Railway Police (GRP) has launched an operation to trace the trio to re-arrest them in the case, officials said.
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.
Magistrate Tejwant Singh Sandhu in the order passed on February 27 noted that provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act granted powers to a magistrate to release a convict after admonition or appropriate warning to ensure he or she does not repeat the offence.
A local court in Nashik on Tuesday remanded suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative and 26/11 key handler Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal to ATS custody till September 24 for his alleged role in the conspiracy to attack the Police Academy in Nashik in 2010.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has vowed to reclaim every inch of land taken under the pretext of Waqf, stating that the state government will actively investigate all "occupied" land. He also criticized the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its leaders, alleging that they failed to uphold the principles of socialist leader Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia. Adityanath praised the Maha Kumbh, highlighting its significance as a symbol of India's spiritual heritage and national unity.
In yet another hit-and-run case in Maharashtra, a 31-year-old woman was killed after a speeding car knocked her down in Nashik city, the police said on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court, which had imposed a fine Rs 50,000 on Zaheera or additional imprisonment of three months, had on March 7 waived off the penalty because of her poor financial condition.
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
On September 29, 2008, a bomb explosion at 9:35pm opposite Shakil Goods Transport Company situated between Anjuman Chowk and Bhiku Chowk in Malegaon killed six persons and injured 101.
Heavy police security had been deployed at various places following the large scale protests.
The employees are demanding salary parity with state government employees, seeking a pay scale adjustment to match that of their counterparts in the state sector.
Cops also called Manorama, her husband Dilip and three others, all shown as accused in the FIR, as "influential and politically active" persons, in the court in Paud that remanded Manorama in police custody till July 20.
Prime accused in the Malegaon blast case Pragnya Singh Thakur was on Friday shifted to the Nashik civil hospital from the central jail for medical checkup, hospital sources said.
