NIA, CBI grill sadhvi Pragya for 2 hours

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) separately questioned sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, 41, on Friday in connection with five bomb blasts in different parts of the country and the murder of RSS worker Sunil Joshi at Devas, Madhya Pradesh.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) separately questioned sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, 41, on Friday in connection with five bomb blasts in different parts of the country and the murder of RSS worker Sunil Joshi at Devas, Madhya Pradesh.

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Joshi was also an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. It is suspected that he was killed because he had become a liability to the Hindu-right wing group involved in the blast.

Sources involved in the investigation told HT during the more than two-hour questioning, Thakur remained uncooperative and did not reply to most questions. “She did not even say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and intermittently complained of dizziness,” an investigator said.

While the NIA questioned Thakur for her suspected involvement in the 2008 Modasa bomb blast, the Samjhauta Express and Ajmer Sharif bomb blasts in 2007 and Joshi’s murder, the CBI questioned her in connection with the serial bomb blasts at Malegaon in 2006 and the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case.

Sources said CBI particularly questioned Thakur about Swami Aseemanand’s revelations and claims about the Abhinav Bharat’s involvement in the 2006 blasts at Malegaon.

The NIA questioned Thakur about the motorcycle that was used to trigger the blast at Modasa, Gujarat, on September 29, 2008. The same day the group triggered a blast in Malegaon killing six people and injuring 101. In both cases, motorcycles were used to plant the explosives. The motorcycle used at Malegaon has been traced to Thakur.

Doctors at JJ Hospital, where Thakur is lodged from December last year, said Thakur is “very cheerful” and does her daily work “without any problem”.