Two accused granted bail

In a major setback for the prosecution, the Bombay high court on Wednesday granted bail to two accused in the September 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.

In a major setback for the prosecution, the Bombay high court on Wednesday granted bail to two accused in the September 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.

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Justice Abhay Thipsay granted bail to Indore residents Shivnarayan Kalasangra and Shyam Sahu on grounds that there was no material to prove their involvement. The duo was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs1 lakh and a surety of the same amount, each.

They had moved the HC after a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court rejected their bail pleas in January 2009.

Counsels for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) contended that both the accused knew the absconding prime accused, Ramji Kalasangra, and were aware of the conspiracy.

The NIA counsel said Shivnarayan was Ramji's business partner. Ramji had allegedly played an instrumental role in the blast, which killed 6 and injured more than 100.

Thipsay said, "In spite of voluminous evidence, there is no material indicating that Shivnarayan had participated in any conspiracy meetings or took part in executing the conspiracy." They were arrested on October 23, 2008 by the state ATS.