Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit and six others accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast will stand trial on stringent terror charges, a special NIA court on Wednesday ruled in the politically sensitive case.
The ruling left the National Investigation Agency red-faced which had given clean chit to Sadhvi Pragya.
Rejecting the pleas of the accused of discharge from the case, a special NIA court, however, dropped some sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against them as well as Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) charges against the accused, which is punishable by up to life in prison.
Significantly, the court dismissed the NIA’s contention that there was no evidence against Sadhvi Pragya, saying it was difficult to accept the claim given that her motorcycle was used in the blast.
“There is evidence to suggest that the accused number one (Thakur) had knowledge about the involvement of her motorcycle,” the court said in its ruling on the nine-year-old case.
Sadhvi Pragya “had also expressed dissatisfaction about causing fewer casualties in the blast. Hence it is difficult to accept submissions on behalf of the NIA and the accused number one that she had no concern with the present crime,” it said.
Special judge S.D. Tekale, who was hearing the pleas filed by seven of the 13 accused and the NIA’s application seeking to frame of charges, said that charges will be framed against Thakur, Purohit, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Major (retd.) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Ajay Rahirkar.
The accused will face trial now under sections 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (conspiring for and committing/ organizing a terror act) and under the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder and causing hurt besides charges under the Explosive Substances Act and Arms Act. The charges are punishable by various prison terms up to life, and death for murder.
The NIA, while filing a charge sheet in the case last year, gave a clean chit to Sadhvi Pragya and three others — Shyam Sahu, Praveen Takalki, Shivnarayan Kalsangra — saying it found no evidence against them and they should be discharged from the case.
On Wednesday, the court absolved only Sahu, Kalsangra and Takalki from all the charges leaving Thakur to face trial. Two others, Jagdish Mhatre and Rakesh Dhawde, will face trial only under the Arms Act “before concerned courts”, the NIA court said.
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