Bail for Sadhvi Pragya Thakur in Malegaon Blast case. col Shrikant Purohit stays in jail

Mangalore Today News Network

Mumbai, Apr 25, 2017:  The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur accused of plotting the September 2008 blasts in Maharashtra’s Malegaon, in which seven people were killed.

Another accused, Lt. Colonel Shrikant Purohit has, however, been denied bail. The two have been in jail for over eight years now, though Sadhvi Pragya was moved to a Bhopal hospital recently for medical treatment.

Lt. Col Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya had moved the High Court after a trial court rejected their bail applications last year. 

On September 29, 2008, two bombs fitted on a motorcycle exploded in Malegaon, around 270 km from Mumbai, killing seven people and injuring over 100. Sadhvi Pragya was arrested in October that year and Col Purohit in November and were charged with plotting the blasts as part of a pro-Hindu group, Abhinav Bharat.

Last year, the National Investigation Agency, which handles terror cases, dropped charges against Sadhvi Pragya and five others saying there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them.

She was, however, denied bail by the Mumbai special court, which questioned the NIA dropping charges against her.

The NIA had recommended prosecuting Lt Colonel Srikant Purohit for conspiracy and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, though it had dropped charges under the stringent anti-terror law, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act or MCOCA, against him and nine others.

The lawyers of Col Purohit have argued that the statements of witnesses against the Army officer are fabricated. They also said that due process was not followed in prosecuting him as an officer of the Indian Army.

Lt Col Purohit has told court that he was assigned by military intelligence to infiltrate various terror organisations and that his superiors were constantly in the loop about his actions and associations with Abhinav Bharat.

In April last year, he had written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, claiming he had been falsely implicated in the case.  "I have been robbed of honour, dignity and rank and punished for serving the nation," the letter read.

Courtesy: Zeenews