Malegaon blasts: NIA readying chargesheet, Purohit bail rejected

Malegaon, Oct 13: The National Investigating Agency will file a chargesheet in the Malegaon blasts case of 2008 within a month and currently the evidence against the various accused is carefully being scrutinized.

The chargesheet is in the final stages and will be ready within a month, an NIA official informed.

On September 29 2008 a blast rocked Malegaon, Maharashtra in which four persons had died while several others injured.

The probe was initially conducted by the Maharashtra ATS and later handed over to the NIA.

The ATS had said that the conspiracy was hatched to carry out blasts in retaliation to strikes by jihadi elements in the country.

A lengthy chargesheet

The NIA has carefully gone through the evidence and will file a lengthy chargesheet a source in the NIA informed OneIndia.

The chargesheet against one of the accused, Lt. Col. Purohit is being considered carefully the NIA says.

Since he was an army officer there was a court of inquiry too which was conducted against him and these factors would find its place in the chargesheet as well.

During the court of inquiry, Purohit had said that he is being framed in the case. In fact he was an undercover officers trying to find out about the jihadi elements, he had also said.

The NIA while taking into account the proceedings of the court of inquiry has also taken the statements of some army officials who had testified in this case.

Sadhvi Pragya Singh

The case against Pragya Singh Thakur too is being considered with utmost caution. The allegation was that it was her bike that was used to plant the bomb in Malegaon.

However the NIA has learnt that she had sold off the bike to Sunil Joshi two years prior to the blast. Morevoer the NIA also learnt that the bike was never used by Pagya Singh and all relevant documents were in the name of Joshi also an accused.

Joshi was however murdered mysteriously and the NIA is probing this case as well.

The NIA also learnt that the bomb was planted by one Ramji Kalsanghra who today carries a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

He is on the wanted list of the NIA and in the chargesheet he will be shown as an absconding accused.

Bail rejected

Meanwhile an NIA court rejected the bail plea filed by Lt Col. Purohit who has been in jail since 2008.

The court also rejected the bail plea filed by Dayanand Pandey alias Swami Amritanand Dev, Rakesh Dhawade and Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhayay.

The accused, in their bail applications, had told the court that they were innocent and incarcerated for the past seven years without the trial taking off.

However, National Investigation Agency (NIA) opposed their bail, saying there were evidences against them in the terror attack.

Twelve persons, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Purohit, were arrested for alleged involvement in the September 29, 2008 blast in Malegaon.

The accused were booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Indian Penal Code and other relevant laws.

Following a Supreme Court order, a special court had been constituted to hear the case. Sadhvi is also an accused in the murder of RSS activist Sunil Joshi in Madhya Pradesh.

OneIndia News