All acquitted in Malegaon blast case, court says no proof Pragya Thakur owned bike
Six people were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle (LML Freedom bike) went off in Malegaon, a town with a sizeable Muslim population, on September 29, 2008. The blast took place during the holy month of Ramzan.The case was initially probed by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the NIA in 2011. The NIA alleged that the blast was part of a conspiracy involving the group Abhinav Bharat.- Ends
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Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘God is one', victim pleaded before being shot, witness tells court in RPF train firing case
IN THE murder trial against dismissed Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetansinh Chaudhary, a witness told court that one of the victims had begged for mercy and pleaded that 'God is one' but was shot twice in his chest that killed him. The trial against Chaudhary resumed on Monday after it was stalled since March, when he was sent to a mental hospital for treatment. Constable Narendra Parmar, who was also dismissed by the RPF, citing 'failure to discharge duty', deposed before the Dindoshi sessions court. He was also on the Jaipur-Mumbai train on July 31, 2023, where Chaudhary is alleged to have killed his senior, assistant sub-inspector Tikaram Meena, and three Muslim passengers — Asgar Ali Abbas, Abdul Kader Bhanpurwala and Syed Saifuddin. Parmar told the court that he had seen the accused talk to a passenger, and that everyone in the coach was scared. He said that Chaudhary had a rifle in his hand and was in 'ready position'. 'The passenger was begging for mercy. He told Chetan, 'main ek aam mulazim hu, main Allah ko bhi maanta hun aur main bhagwaan ko bhi maanta hu, Bhagwan aur Allah ek hai (I am a regular person. I believe in Allah, and I also believe in Bhagwan. All Gods are equal)',' Parmar told the court and said that Chaudhary shot him twice in the chest. Parmar said that he tried to stop Chaudhary but there were passengers between them and he feared that firing at Chaudhary to stop him would have injured the passengers. Parmar also said that Chaudhary was angry and he feared that he may shoot him also. Parmar then entered another coach through the pantry car and called the other constable on duty, Amey Acharya (who was also dismissed along with Parmar), and told him to inform the control room that Chaudhary had killed a passenger. As one of the passengers pulled the chain, the train halted. Parmar told court that he had seen bodies on the train, lying in pools of blood. A passenger told him that Chaudhary had escaped, alighting from the train on the tracks. This was in between Mira Road and Dahisar railway station, Parmar said. Parmar and another guard told the motorman to take the train to Borivali railway station, where many other policemen gathered, and he also saw the body of his senior Meena in B5 coach. The bodies of all four victims were sent for postmortem. Parmar was shown photographs of the victims and he identified the person who was held at gunpoint in the pantry. Parmar's deposition will continue Tuesday when he is likely to be shown articles from the spot for identification. Chaudhary claimed that his mental condition was not proper. Following a report from the jail, the court had directed that he be admitted to a mental hospital, with the trial stalled till then.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
AAP accuses BJP of framing its leaders in 'false cases' after Delhi court dismisses case against Satyendar Jain
The AAP on Sunday slammed the BJP for allegedly framing its leaders in false cases and questioned who would compensate the families for the emotional distress caused by the serious corruption allegations. In a post on X in Hindi, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted that all cases filed against his party leaders are "false".(PTI) In a major relief for AAP leader Satyendar Jain, a special court on Monday accepted the CBI's closure report filed in a 2018 case against the former Delhi PWD minister and others related to alleged corruption in hiring a creative team for the department, noting that the "investigation found no criminal activity or wrongful loss to the government." In a post on X in Hindi, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted that all cases filed against his party leaders are "false". "With time, the truth will come out in all these cases. False cases were filed against us, and we were sent to jail. Shouldn't those who filed these false cases, and those leaders who ordered these false cases, be sent to jail? We were smeared with mud day and night, our families had to endure so much pain — what about compensating for all that?" the AAP supremo said on X. While accepting the CBI's closure report, Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh said the investigating agency has not found any incriminating evidence over such a long period, and further proceedings would serve no useful purpose. "Whenever they wanted, they filed fake cases; whenever they wanted, they sent us to jail; and whenever they felt like it, they filed a 'closure report.' Is this justice?" Kejriwal questioned. Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia also posted on X, "Three things cannot remain hidden for long: the sun, the moon, and the truth. – Gautam Buddha. No evidence found against Satyendar Jain: CBI." "The BJP put in all its might, but victory always belongs to the truth. Satyameva Jayate," Sisodia said in his post. The agency had registered the case on May 28, 2018, on a reference from the office of the Lieutenant Governor of the NCT of Delhi to investigate the allegations of irregularities in the award of a tender to a private company for hiring a creative team for PWD works. Four years later, the CBI filed a closure report in the matter, underlining that there was "no evidence of pecuniary advantage, conspiracy, or corruption". AAP's Delhi state convener Saurabh Bharadwaj said the "conspiracy" of the BJP had been exposed. "The conspiracy of BJP exposed. False cases by CBI revealed. The despicable thinking of BJP's central government and their LG - file false cases against Kejriwal's government ministers and MLAs to hinder their work, defame them in the name of corruption. Now the truth is coming to light,' he said in a post on X in Hindi. Echoing similar views, former Delhi minister Atishi said in a press conference, "Since the AAP government was formed in Delhi, the BJP has filed false cases against our leaders. In 10 years, more than 200 cases have been filed against our leaders. When these cases go to court, it comes to light that AAP leaders have done nothing wrong." Atishi said the CBI court has accepted that there was not a single penny of corruption in Jain's case and has declared him innocent.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Arrest of Mukhtar Ansari's son Umar sparks political row, SP cries foul, BJP says law taking its course
The arrest of deceased mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's younger son Umar Ansari from Lucknow in a forgery case on Sunday night sparked a political controversy with the Samajwadi Party alleging that Umar was taken into custody as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to affect the by-polls for the Mau Sadar assembly seat in eastern Uttar Pradesh and the BJP asserting that the law has taken its course and legal matters should not be politicised. Umar Ansari was arrested on Sunday night. (FILE PHOTO) The Ghazipur police, which arrested Umar Ansari from the MLA residence at Darulshafa in Lucknow on Sunday night, produced him in court in Ghazipur on Monday morning. Umar is accused of forging the signatures of his mother Afsha Ansari, on whom there is a ₹50,000 bounty, and submitting it to the court to reclaim his family's ₹10 crore attached property. The property was related to Mukhtar Ansari, the former head of the IS (Inter State) 191 gang, according to the police. The Mau Sadar seat had fallen vacant after the conviction of Umar Ansari's elder brother Abbas Ansari by a special MP-MLA Court in Mau in a hate speech case on May 31. Abbas's father Mukhtar Ansari represented the Mau Sadar assembly seat five times, from 1996 to 2017. Mukhtar did not contest the 2022 polls and died two years later on March 28, 2024 at the Banda Medical College hospital in Uttar Pradesh. He had been in Banda jail prior to his death. The Allahabad high court on July 30 reserved its judgment on a petition filed by Abbas Ansari challenging the order of the Mau court that had rejected his application for a stay on his conviction in the hate speech case. 'As far as we can understand, it is clear that Abbas Ansari has been framed. Muslims MLAs were the target of this government. Azam Khan and his entire family were targeted. Now, when the decision regarding membership of Abbas Ansari in the UP assembly is about to be given, then his younger brother Umar Ansari has been arrested. The government wants that no one from his family should be able to contest the by-election,' SP spokesperson Ameeque Jamei said. 'An FIR is registered against Umar at 6pm and by 9pm he is arrested. Meanwhile, some mafias are roaming freely in Purvanchal, the STF and police are unable to see them. But Umar is arrested in a fake signature case. We want to ask if the accused has no right to go to the court and secondly did the court take notice of the alleged fake sign? Is there any report by FSL (forensic science laboratory) which proves the sign is fake? This is an attempt to put all the members of the Ansari family behind bars by misusing administrative powers,' the SP spokesperson said. Abbas Ansari had won the Mau Sadar assembly seat on a Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party ticket as the OP Rajbhar-led party had contested 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in alliance with the SP. Rajbhar later left the SP camp and joined hands with the BJP-led NDA to become a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government. 'SBSP chief and minister OP Rajbhar should take a stand for his MLA, instead of trying to create a communal divide in the society,' Jamei said. UP BJP vice-president Vijay Bahadur Pathak said, 'In Umar Ansari's arrest, the law has taken its own course. All due legal process was followed before arresting Umar Ansari. It is a case related to presenting forged documents in court. Legal matters should not be politicised.' According to police, Umar Ansari filed a petition in court with a forged affidavit to seek release of the property that was attached under the UP Gangster Act. When the Ghazipur police came to know about the forgery, the Mohammadabad police registered a case against Umar Ansari and his lawyer Liaquat Ali. Mukhtar Ansari's wife, Afsha Ansari, is still at large. According to a statement issued by the superintendent of police, Ghazipur, the properties were seized under provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters Act. It is alleged that Umar Ansari intended to secure illegal gains and submitted forged documents reportedly bearing the fake signatures of his mother, Afshan Ansari, in the court, the statement said. Afshan Ansari is currently absconding and carries a reward of ₹50,000 on her head. 'Upon learning of the fraudulent activity, a case was registered against Umar Ansari at the Mohammadabad police station, with charges filed under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),' read the statement. The Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Abbas Ansari on March 7, 2025 in a case under the Gangsters Act. Over two months later, he was sentenced to two years in prison in a hate speech case related to Mau in May, resulting in his disqualification from the state assembly. The case in which Abbas Ansari was convicted stems from a speech delivered during the 2022 assembly election campaign in Mau. On July 5, 2025, a local court in Mau upheld the conviction of Abbas Ansari in the hate speech case but allowed further hearings on his plea specifically challenging the quantum of the two-year sentence initially awarded. The court also granted Ansari interim bail on a bond of ₹50,000 and stayed his sentence, but maintained his conviction. ARREST BASED ON INVESTIGATION, EVIDENCE: DGP Responding to a media query, director general of police Rajeev Krishna confirmed that Umar Ansari was taken into custody from Lucknow on Sunday night in connection with a case registered in Ghazipur. 'The arrest has been made based on investigation and available evidence,' he said. Emphasising the due legal process, Krishna stated, 'There are clear directives from the Supreme Court, the high court, and the law itself. Our role as a police force is to ensure that any action taken is backed by solid evidence that can stand up in court.' He stressed that all police efforts must be carried out within the framework of the law to maintain the integrity of the judicial process.
