The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has reportedly informed the Special NIA court that it has no objection to the discharge aplication filed by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, who is an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case. She had moved the discharge application after the Bombay High Court granted her bail last month.
According to an Indian Express report, the NIA, in its reply to Thakur’s discharge application, said that there is insufficient material to prosecute her and “there are reasonable grounds to believe that the charges against her are prima facie not true”.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, which was investigating the case before the NIA took over in April 2011, had said Thakur provided her motorcycle to Ramji Kalsangra, an absconding accused, to plant the bomb which killed six persons in Malegaon on September 29, 2008.
She was also accused of being a part of the “conspiracy meetings” in Bhopal. Special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal said the NIA, in its reply, stated the motorcycle did not belong to Thakur and the Forensic Sciences Laboratory could not, with certainty, identify the manufacturer of the two-wheeler.
The NIA also stated that there is no electronic evidence to prove that Thakur was in touch with Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, another absconding accused, who were alleged to have planted the bombs.
The NIA in May 2016, had dropped the stringent MCOCA charge against all the accused, citing lack of substantial evidence. Since the statements of the co-accused were recorded before the MCOCA charge was dropped.
Col. Purohit, another accused in the case has applied for bail before the Supreme Court, after his plea was rejected by the Bombay High Court.
Another accused, Sudhakar Dwivedi alias Dayanand Pandey, has filed a bail plea before the special court. Sameer Kulkarni, another accused, has applied for discharge. The special court is hearing arguments on framing of charges against all the accused.
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