NIA court grants bail to two 2008 Malegaon bomb blast accused

Both are accused of attending conspiracy meetings, where the terror attack was planned, along with others.

A special NIA court in Mumbai on Tuesday granted bail to two accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.

Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit, who was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, being taken to the Army Base at Colaba from Taloja Central jail, in Mumbai. (Bhushan Koyande/HT File Photo)

Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sudhakar Dwivedi alias Shankaracharya, facing conspiracy charges, were granted bail by NIA Court judge SD Tekale.

Both are accused of attending conspiracy meetings, where the terror attack was planned, along with others.

Two key accused in the case, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit, were granted bail earlier.

The Bombay High Court granted bail to Thakur earlier this year, while Purohit was given the relief by the Supreme Court last month.

Six people were killed and nearly 100 others injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded in Malegaon town in Nashik district, about 200 km from here, on September 29, 2008.

Twelve people, including Thakur and Purohit, were arrested in connection with the blast.

All the accused were booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), besides under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).