Malegaon blasts case: NIA frames conspiracy, murder charges against Lt Purohit and others

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday framed charges against Lt Col Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh and others accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case. All the accused were charged with terror conspiracy, murder and other related offences.

A bench of Justices SS Shinde and AS Gadkari framed the charges against all the accused including Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sudhakar Chaturvedi.

During the hearing, the bench refused Lt Col Purohit’s request for staying the proceedings in the trial court, noting that in the past, both the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court had passed orders directing the trial court to expedite the hearing in the case.

Court, however, agreed to hear next month, a petition filed by Lt Col Purohit, one of the seven accused in the case, challenging his prosecution under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The court also directed the NIA counsel Sandesh Patil to file a reply to Lt Col Purohit’s plea by November 21, the next date of hearing.

As many as six people were killed and nearly 100 others were injured in the blast that took place between Bhikku Chowk and Anjuman Chowk, near Noorani Masjid, at Malegaon in Maharashtra.

Also Read: Malegaon blasts case: NIA court defers framing of charges to October 30