5 deny hand in ’08 Malegaon blasts

Five accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts have denied their involvement in the conspiracy to carry out the explosion that killed six people before the Bombay High Court.

Five accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts have denied their involvement in the conspiracy to carry out the explosion that killed six people before the Bombay High Court.

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They also urged the HC to dismiss the state’s appeal challenging the dropping of the MCOCA charges against them.

The accused are alleged arms supplier Rakesh Dhawade, treasurer of Hindu right-wing outfit Abhinav Bharat Ajay Rahirkar, Shamlal Sahu, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Shiv Narayan Kalsangra.

Dhawade said he was not connected to Abhinav Bharat except for accepting a donation cheque from the outfit for his institute, where he is a researcher in Oriental Studies.

He said there is no evidence to show he had formed the crime syndicate that conspired to carry out the blasts.

Rahirkar too said there is no evidence to prove that he collected and distributed money for committing the alleged crimes and urged the court to discharge all the accused and quash the state’s appeal.