The Dewas Police have filed a chargesheet against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and others in connection with the murder of RSS worker Sunil Joshi in 2007.
Investigators probing the acts of terror allegedly carried out by right-wing groups at Malegaon, Ajmer and Hyderabad are now looking for one Swami Aseemanand and his accomplice.The police have been looking for Swami Aseemanand since the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in October 2009 in connection with the Malegaon blasts. The ATS had picked up incriminating intercepts of his conversation with the Sadhvi.
Mother of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, prime accused in the September 2008 Malegaon blast case, on Tuesday said that her daughter had been "falsely implicated" and was "innocent".
In her petition filed before the high court, Thakur, who is currently lodged in the Byculla jail in Mumbai, said she is ready to incur the cost of both rail and/or air fare if there is any technical or procedural hitch in the same, as her safety and security is paramount.
A Mumbai court on Saturday rejected the plea of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, seeking a direction to authorities that she be taken to Bhopal either by a plane or in an AC compartment of train for appearance in a murder case trial there.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up on Monday an appeal filed by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, key accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blasts case, challenging her prosecution under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
Seven accused in the Malegaon blast case, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, were today remanded in judicial custody till December 3 by a MCOCA court.
Pragya will undergo brain-mapping, polygraph and lie detector tests at Forensic Science Laboratory in suburban Santa Cruz, ATS Director Rukmani Krishnamurthy said. The Nashik court had permitted the ATS to conduct these psychological tests on Sadhvi.
"The MP police moved an application in the special MCOCA court here, and after taking the court's permission they placed Sadhvi under arrest in the Sunil Joshi murder case," Rohini Salian, Special Public Prosecutor, told PTI.
Dismissing her bail plea, a bench of justices J M Panchal and H L Gokhale said, "There is no merit in the petition".
Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, who was admitted to Nashik Civil hospital, has refused to take medical treatment, hospital said on Monday.
She was being shifted from Nashik Ayurvedic Hospital to JJ Hospital in Mumbai following a court order. However, she developed chest pain after starting for Mumbai at around 1.30 pm, her lawyer Umesh Walzade told PTI.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was on Monday presented before a court here in an ambulance parked inside the premises, in the Sunil Joshi murder case, as she was unable to step out due to spine problems.
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.
The court transferred the custody of Samir Kulkarni, an accused in the case and one of the co-founders of right-wing group Abhinav Bharat, to the Madhya Pradesh police.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, who is facing charges under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act for her alleged involvement in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, has moved the Supreme Court for bail. The petition is listed for hearing on Monday before a bench comprising Justices J M Panchal and Gyan Sudha Mishra. Pragya's counsel Sushil Balwada has filed the petition challenging the denial of bail by the Bombay high court.
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 court ruling came following a state government appeal against the sessions court decision to set aside MCOCA against the Sadhvi and others.
Throwing its weight behind the Malegaon blast accused, including sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a group of advocates in Sonepat have set up a 17-member lawyers committee to provide legal assistance to them. The Hindu Unification Movement Legal and Welfare Association will provide legal assistance to the sadhvi and other accused, according to Bhupeshwar Dayal Gaur, a founder-member of the association.
Charging the Centre with appeasing minorities for electoral gains, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Saturday called for a nationwide agitation to highlight the 'oppression of Hindus'."On one hand, the government is not executing death sentence to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and on the other it is torturing an innocent person like Sadhvi Pragya Singh, who has been falsely implicated in the Malegaon blast case," VHP leader Venkatesh Abdev said.
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.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and another person, arrested for their alleged involvement in the September 29 Malegaon blast, were subjected to narco-analysis tests in Mumbai on Monday.The Sadhvi and Sameer Kulkarni underwent the scientific tests conducted by officials of the Forensic Science Laboratory in a hospital in south Mumbai, Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad officials said.The tests on former army officer Ramesh Upadhyay is likely to be conducted on Wednesday.
Nashik-based Bhonsalal Military School (BMS) on Friday said no meeting took place in the institution among retired major Ramesh Shivji Upadhyay, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and a serving lieutanant Colonel, who have been interrogated in connection with the Malegaon blasts.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, the main accused in the Malegaon blast case, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking bail, after her plea was rejected by the Maharashtra Control Of Organised Crime Act court. The court on Friday adjourned the hearing for two weeks as the Anti Terrorism Squad sought time to file its reply. Earlier, the special MCOCA court had rejected her bail application. According to Thakur's lawyer, advocate Ganesh Sowani, she had been illegally detained.
The Maharashtra Anti-terror Squad made a very important arrest in the Malegaon blast case late Monday night. Praveen Muthalik, who is said to be one of the executors of the blast was arrested and later remanded in police custody till February 14. He had been absconding for nearly two years.
Dr Ram Puniyani, member of the EKTA, Committee for Communal Amity, Mumbai, speaks about the arrests of Muslim youth in Maharashtra.
The Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Mumbai police suffered a major setback last week, when charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against Sadhvi Pragya Singh, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit and nine other accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, were dropped by the special court's designated Judge Y B Shinde.Dropping MCOCA charges against the prime accused in the Malegaon blast case has definitely made the prosecution's task tougher.
Sadhvi Pragya's statements will be crucial to the Malegaon investigation. Her advocate Ganesh Sovani, however, points out that they have not decided as of yet to challenge CBI's re-investigation of the case.
Shooters of underworld don Chhota Shakeel gang were targeting not only the lawyer of Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Varun Gandhi but also the advocates of right wing Hindu activist Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, who is the prime accused in the Malegaon blasts case. "Our probe revealed that they (the shooters of Chhota Shakeel gang) wanted to eliminate lawyers of Pragya Thakur," said sources in the Mumbai Crime Branch.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, one of the prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, suffered a mild heart attack on Wednesday night and her condition is now stable, hospital sources said on Thursday.
The Bombay High Court on Friday rejected the plea of 2008 Malegaon blast case prime accused sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur for liberty observing that no case had been made out for granting bail.
The Bombay High Court has reserved its order on the bail plea of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, prime accused in the September 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.After the trial court rejected her bail plea, Sadhvi moved the high court seeking liberty on the ground that the charge sheet had not been filed within the stipulated 90-day period.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, one of the prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, on Tuesday approached the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court seeking home food alleging that she is being served non-vegetarian food in the prison.
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.
"It has become clear that the ATS is acting in a politically-motivated and unprofessional manner. After going through her (sadhvi Pragya) affidavit, I have to express my shock and outrage, which I am sure all Indians will share," BJP leader L K Advani said during his one-day tour of the poll-bound BJP-ruled Chattisgarh state.
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.
Stating that the Shiv Sena was ready to provide the best lawyers to defend Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, arrested in connection with the Malegaon blast, Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday ridiculed Congress Member of Parliament Gurudas Kamat, who has demanded his arrest for backing her. "Whenever Congressmen have feats of Muslim appeasement, they dream of my arrest," Thackeray said in an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana.
Andhra Pradesh police officials including members of elite anti terrorist force OCTOPUS will soon go to Mumbai to question Sadhvi Pragya Singh, Shrikant Purohit and other suspects who were arrested in connection with the Malegaon blast.
While 'Hindu terror acts' are made out to be a relatively new concept, the fact remains that the first signs of Hindu terror came to the fore as way back as 2006, when a bomb went off while bding assembled in a Hindu activist's house in Nanded, Maharashtra
Designated Judge Y B Shinde, presiding over the special court, said none of the accused had more than one chargesheet filed against him or her for invoking provisions of MCOCA.