TIL Desk/National/Mumbai/ 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 National Investigation Agency court on Wednesday ruled in the politically-sensitive case that had raised speculation of saffron militancy. The ruling left the NIA red-faced which had given clean chit to Sadhvi Pragya.
Rejecting the pleas of the accused for discharge from the case, a special NIA court, however, dropped some sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against as well as Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused, which is punishable by up to life in prison.
Significantly, the court dismissed 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 involvement of her motorcycle,” the court said in its ruling on the nine-year-old case that had raised worries of Hindu militancy gaining a foothold as a reaction to Islamic extremism.
Sadhvi Pragya ‘had also expressed dissatisfaction about causing less 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.
