No political interference in Malegaon probe: Rijiju

New Delhi, May 13: There is no political interference in the Malegaon 2008 blast probe being carried out by the NIA, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said on Friday (May 13).

"The law is taking its natural course. The investigators now have the freedom to investigate without pressure unlike during the previous regime," Rijiju told media.

The minister's remarks came after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday dropped the names of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and four others as accused in the September 2008 Malegaon blasts case in its charge-sheet filed before a special court in Mumbai.

Dismissing Congress' charge that the BJP government had been influencing the NIA probe, Rijiju said there was "no political interference".

"There is no political interference and we will ensure that there is none at any level," he said.

Earlier, Congress leader Digvijay Singh accused the BJP of maligning the image of slain Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad officer Hemant Karkare, whose team first arrested Sadhvi Pragya Singh, Colonel Shrikant Purohit and others in connection with the Malegaon blasts.

"To say that an upright officer like Hemant Karkare, who laid down his life fighting terror, fabricated evidence against Sadhvi Pragya and others is condemnable," the Congress leader told the TV channel.

IANS