BJP MLA Sadhvi Pragya directed to attend court proceedings

NIA court directs BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur to appear from April 20 for statement in 2008 Malegaon blast case. Health verification ordered due to previous absences.

MUMBAI: A special NIA (National Investigation Agency) court on Monday directed BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in the September 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, to appear in court from April 20 onwards. She is required to provide her statement under section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

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Following several absences that disrupted court proceedings, the court directed the NIA to verify her health condition. The trial court is currently in the process of recording statements from the accused under section 313 of the CrPC, providing them with an opportunity to address adverse circumstances and evidence presented by the prosecution.

Following the directives, the federal agency filed a report indicating that an NIA officer visited Sarvottam Hospital in Bhopal. The hospital sent a doctor to Thakur’s house on March 30, who examined her and administered the necessary treatment. As per the doctor’s report, the BJP MP was advised to observe bed rest.

In this backdrop, the special court on Monday allowed an exemption application filed by Thakur through her lawyer but directed her to appear before the court from April 22 onwards, without fail, to record her statement under section 313.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle, purportedly owned by Thakur, went off near a mosque in Malegaon, about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008.

According to the prosecution, Ramchandra Kalsangra, an absconding accused against whom a proclamation has been issued, and Sandeep Dange, both residents of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, planted the bomb on the bike that belonged to the BJP MP and which Kalsangra was using for two years before the blast.

The prosecution on September 14, 2023, closed its evidence against the seven accused – the BJP MP, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni. It examined 323 witnesses in proving its case against the seven accused, and 37 of them turned hostile.