Court acquits accused in Malegaon blast case, rejects political pressure claim
Mujawar alleged that senior ATS officers instructed him to take Mohan Bhagwat into custody, but he refused to follow what he called an "illegal order," as he found no evidence linking Bhagwat to the blast. Mujawar also claimed that he was falsely implicated in a case filed by the ATS before the Magistrate court in Solapur.At one point, Mujawar publicly stated that two who wanted to be accused in the case, Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, were dead. An enquiry was initiated regarding this statement, and as a result, Mujawar was not listed as a prosecution witness before the court.Sangle presented certified copies of Mujawar's statement from the Solapur Magistrate court, highlighting alleged torture by the ATS and political pressure aimed at implicating RSS members to justify a ban on the organisation.Sangle argued, 'Both the accused and witnesses spoke about torture. Due to extreme torture by ATS, Kalsangra and Dange died. This torture was politically motivated to ensure RSS members were named.'The court reviewed statements from another ATS officer and confirmed Mujawar's role as part of the ATS team investigating the Malegaon blast under his superior's orders.However, the special NIA court, while acquitting the accused, noted that Mujawar's statement was made before a Magistrate court and not before Special Judge AK Lahoti.Judge Lahoti stated, 'The statement recorded under Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code (by Mujawar) cannot be treated as evidence because it was not recorded before this court. Simply submitting documents is not sufficient.'The judge added, 'Evidence must come from cogent and reliable testimony of the concerned witness. Moreover, these documents reflect his defense before a different court, not this one.'Consequently, the court chose not to consider Mujawar's statement in its verdict.- EndsMust Watch
IN THIS STORY#Mumbai
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
28 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Delhi HC asks Yasin Malik to respond to NIA's plea for death penalty
The Delhi High Court on Monday (August 11, 2025) sought separatist leader Yasin Malik's response on a plea filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking death penalty for him in a terror funding case. A Bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Shalinder Kaur granted four weeks to Malik to file his response to the NIA's petition while posting the hearing for November 10. Malik, who previously sought to argue in-person against NIA's plea seeking the enhancement, was supposed to appear virtually from jail but was not produced. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief (JKLF) is lodged in Tihar jail where he is serving a life term in the case. On Monday, the Bench directed the jail authorities to produce him virtually on November 10. On May 24, 2022, a trial court sentenced Malik to life imprisonment after holding him guilty for offences under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and IPC. Malik had pleaded guilty to the charges, including those under the UAPA, and was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Appealing against the sentence, the NIA emphasised that a terrorist cannot be sentenced life term just because he has pleaded guilty and chosen not to go through trial.
The Hindu
28 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Political row erupts in Kerala over Governor's directive to observe ‘Partition horror day'
The Kerala government and Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar are at daggers drawn all over again after the 'saffron flag-holding Bharat Mata' row, with Mr. Arlekar directing State-run universities to observe 'Partition horror day' on August 14. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed the directive 'unconstitutional and unacceptable'. 'The Sangh Parivar, which had no role in the freedom movement and served the British Raj, is now seeking to undermine Independence Day by calling for the creation of a day to remember the horrors of Partition. They conveniently forget the fact that Partition and the riots thereafter were a fallout of the British 'divide and rule' policy. The Raj Bhavan's stance in line with the divisive political agenda of the Sangh Parivar is unconstitutional. Our universities will not be allowed to be used as platforms for implementing such an agenda,' Mr. Vijayan said in a statement. Raj Bhavan had instructed universities last week to organise seminars and commemorative events, including street plays and dramas, highlighting 'the trauma of India's Partition.' 'They (the universities) can prepare dramas on this, which can be done by going to people and showing how terrible Partition was,' the message said. The circular also directed Vice-Chancellors to submit action plans for the observance. The directive echoes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call made four years ago to observe August 14 as 'Partition horrors remembrance day'. However, this marks the first time universities in Kerala have received formal instructions to mark the occasion. Notably, the move comes just months after a similar Raj Bhavan directive asking universities to observe the anniversary of the Emergency on June 25 as 'Constitution assassination day' drew sharp criticism from various quarters. Although the Vice-Chancellors have not commented on the issue, the directive has drawn sharp reactions from various quarters. General Education Minister V. Sivankutty accused the Governor of attempting to run a parallel administration. 'The Governor has no constitutional power to instruct institutions to observe specific days. This is a clear overreach aimed at overriding the elected government,' he said. Calling the move politically motivated, Mr. Sivankutty questioned the intent behind the observance. 'Which Partition is he referring to? The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which had no role in the freedom struggle, has worked to divide society. The Governor appears to be echoing this ideology,' he alleged. Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan also criticised the Governor's actions, calling them 'unconstitutional.' 'By doing so, the Governor is acting less like a constitutional head and more like a spokesperson for the divisive politics of the RSS. The Chief Minister must not remain silent on the Governor's wayward actions. The government should officially register its protest,' Mr. Satheesan said. Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Binoy Viswam described the Governor's directive as 'anti-national', intended to 'cover up their [the Sangh Parivar's] sorrow over the collapse of British imperialism.'
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Who'll be BJP president? The top picks, dark horses, and strategy
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated August 18, 2025)Just when it seemed the BJP was finally getting set to elect a president, the needle moved backward again, with the imperative of finding a new vice-president for the country first. Never mind that it has been more than a year since current president Jagat Prakash Nadda's term came to an end—this after an extension of a year and a half from the original retirement date of January 20, 2023. The vice-presidential election is due on September 9, followed perhaps by a cabinet reshuffle and, of course, the Bihar is holding up the process? The ideological hand of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) perhaps, which seems to have reclaimed its position behind the steering wheel after the BJP's underwhelming 240-seat tally in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. That setback prompted the Sangh to demand a course correction. No longer content to watch from the sidelines, it has also been pressing for more say in appointments, campaign narratives and transitions at the top. So it is with the choice of president for the organisational elections that began in December 2024 were originally meant to be routine, but have now acquired a new salience. The RSS is certain that the president this time must be one of their own. Not just a charismatic campaigner, but a disciplined organiser, a Hindutva loyalist with deep roots in the Parivar ecosystem. An insider, not an import. Someone who can seamlessly lead the party into a post-Narendra Modi era. So, who fits the bill? THE PROBABLESDharmendra Pradhan, the current Union minister of education and earlier in charge of petroleum, is one contender. His rise from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) stable, his ability to push the BJP's OBC outreach without alienating the core, and his rapport with Dattatreya Hosabale, the current #2 in the RSS, make him the most ideologically aligned and politically agile candidate. He has worked closely with past party presidents: Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah. At 56, he offers a generational shift without provoking there's Bhupender Yadav, the Union environment minister and a seasoned organisation man. A lawyer by training, he rose through the ranks of the Sangh's Adhivakta Parishad and earned his stripes as a shrewd poll manager, especially in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. In 2019, when Nadda was picked as party president, Yadav was in serious contention and was even coordinating calls to key partymen before the Lal Khattar, former Haryana chief minister and current Union housing minister, is another possibility. A committed pracharak before entering electoral politics, Khattar ticks many ideological boxes. He enjoys proximity to Prime Minister Modi and holds favour among Sangh pracharaks like Arun Kumar. However, Khattar's tenure as CM ended amid murmurs about his inaccessibility and a top-down style that alienated both party workers and allies. His low-key presence in the cabinet has done little to reverse that could be dark horses too. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, former Madhya Pradesh CM and now Union agriculture minister, is one of them. Still popular within the BJP base, Shivraj has quietly built goodwill within both the cabinet and Sangh ranks. His backers include veteran pracharak Suresh Soni—who also supports Pradhan—and he is seen as a man who can rally disparate factions. His governance record and mass connect remain his trump cards. But his age could count against him: Shivraj is 66. In a party increasingly nudged toward generational change, he may be seen as a transitional figure—good for now but not in a post-Modi there is the wild card: Sanjay Joshi. A Nagpur boy, former general secretary (organisation) and an ideological purist. Joshi's relations in Nagpur remain strong; he shares old ties with Mohan Bhagwat, Manmohan Vaidya and Nitin Gadkari. At 63, he is in the acceptable age bracket as well, but his run-ins with Modi when he was Gujarat chief minister may be a were some rumours of a woman contender to helm the party. But no serious woman leader has emerged as a consensus candidate, and the idea may die a quiet AT YOUR PERILBoth organisations have a history of springing surprises and, often, the more intense the speculation, the greater the likelihood that the eventual choice will be someone outside the frame. The elevation of Nitin Gadkari as party president in 2009 is a prime example. Just 52 then, Gadkari was relatively unknown outside Maharashtra, having served as state BJP president and minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government. He had almost no experience in national politics. Yet, the Sangh—disenchanted with the infighting and stagnation of the Delhi old guard—pressed for his appointment to inject youthful energy into the party and bring ideological alignment. Gadkari's appointment blindsided the Delhi leadership, upended power equations and marked a shift in balance in the BJP RSS-BJP are also not always bound by public logic or apparent credentials. They prefer consensus, not contest. And that can take weeks, even months, of deliberations and behind-the-scenes persuasion. They have also been busy, first as the party pushed their muscle for the Delhi polls, then to build the political outreach to complement Operation Sindoor and now to identify a candidate for the vice-presidential of August 2025, the party has achieved the quorum necessary to elect a new national president. According to the BJP constitution, the party must complete its internal elections in at least 50 per cent of the states and Union Territories. That threshold has been crossed, with 18-plus state units having completed the exercise, though critical states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Delhi have yet to deliver. Punjab had by the first week of August named only its first six district presidents, making it last in the queue, barring strife-torn UP—a state crucial for both the party as well as the Sangh's ideological balance—four key changes are pending: a new state president, a replacement for Governor Anandiben Patel, a cabinet reshuffle and new national council nominees. The state delivered only 37 out of 80 seats in the 2024 parliamentary polls, prompting serious introspection. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath remains popular and a key ideological figure, but the BJP's caste arithmetic and candidate strategy need urgent recalibration ahead of the 2027 assembly election. Similar exercises are underway in Haryana, Delhi, Jharkhand, Gujarat and POST-MODI TESTThe RSS is well aware that Narendra Modi's mass appeal helped the Parivar reach newer demographics—urban aspirational classes, youth, women and marginalised castes. His popularity gave cover for ideological boldness and delivery on crucial agenda, be it the building of the Ram temple in Ayodhya or the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. But it also fostered top-down decision making, weakening internal debate. Now, with both Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat approaching the retirement threshold of 75, a new chapter is about to begin. No one in the BJP-Sangh expects the PM to hang up his boots anytime soon and it is agreed that he is needed to maintain their ideological and political trajectory. The next party chief will be the bridge. He will have to command the Sangh's trust, Modi's confidence, and the cadre's respect. His mandate will be as much to win elections—Opposition-ruled West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala go to polls in 2026—as to restore ideological depth, forge new caste coalitions, prevent factionalism and manage transitions both within and outside Modi's one party insider quipped recently: 'We're not just choosing a party president, we're deciding who holds the map in a post-Modi landscape.' The Sangh may hold the ideological compass. But the journey ahead will depend on whom it hands that compass to.- EndsMust Watch
