Latest news with #AKLahoti
Hindustan Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
2008 Malegaon blast case: Special NIA court likely to give judgment on July 31
MUMBAI: Nearly 17 years after a bomb blast killed six people and injured over 100 in Malegaon, a special court designated under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is expected to deliver its verdict in the case on July 31. On Thursday, special judge A K Lahoti directed all seven accused to remain present in court on that day. Citing the voluminous nature of the case record, the judge said he required additional time to finalise the judgement. The trial concluded on April 19 this year after the prosecution and defence submitted their final written arguments. Judge Lahoti, who has since been transferred out of Mumbai, was granted an extension until August 31 solely to pronounce the verdict. The blast took place on September 29, 2008, in a Muslim-majority area of Malegaon, located in Nashik district, about 200 km from Mumbai. An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque, leaving six dead and 101 injured. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) initially investigated the case, which was later handed over to the NIA in 2011. The trial began in October 2018, with the court framing charges against seven accused — BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni — under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. The prosecution closed its evidence in September 2023 after examining 323 witnesses. The statements of the accused were recorded under Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and defence witness examination concluded in July 2024. Lt Col Purohit and Chaturvedi also produced witnesses in their defence.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
2008 Malegaon blast: Special NIA court likely to give judgment on July 31
A Special NIA court here on Thursday said it will likely give the judgment in the 2008 Malegaon blast case on July 31, noting that the matter has voluminous documents and it needs some time to deliver the verdict. Almost 17 years after the blast, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court had on April 19 reserved the verdict for May 8. However, Special Judge A K Lahoti, presiding over the case, kept it for the next date. The judge told the accused persons, present in the court, that the case has voluminous documents, and it will take some time to pass the judgment. He asked all the accused in the case to be present on July 31, the next date. Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008. During the trial, the prosecution examined 323 witnesses, of whom 34 turned hostile. Lt Col Prasad Purohit, BJP leader Pragya Thakur, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni are facing trial in the case under the provisions the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case was initially probed by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the NIA in 2011.
Hindustan Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Malegaon blasts case: Special court likely to pronounce verdict on July 31
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday asked all seven accused in the September 2008 Malegaon bomb blasts case to appear before it on July 31 when the verdict in the matter is likely to be pronounced. Special judge AK Lahoti said the case was voluminous and required more time. Former BJP parliamentarian Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the case, leaving the special court in 2018. (PTI/File) The hearings in the case concluded on April 19 after the prosecution and defence submitted their final written arguments. The special judge, who has been transferred out of Mumbai, was given an extension until August 31, as only the judgement remained to be pronounced. The verdict is expected 17 years after two bombs concealed in motorcycles exploded near a mosque in a Muslim-majority area during fasting month of Ramzan in Malegaon, about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008, killing six people and injuring 101 others. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) probed the case before it was transferred to the NIA in 2011. Muslim youths were arrested in the case before the matter took a turn when the ATS said it uncovered evidence pointing to Hindu groups. The NIA said the attack was aimed at provoking communal unrest and triggering retaliatory violence. The accused Pragya Singh Thakur, a former ruling Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian from 2019 to 2024, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni were charged under Indian Penal Code sections, including sections 302 (murder), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 295 (injuring or defiling places of worship) and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosives Act. Special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal said that the prosecution presented overwhelming evidence, including eyewitness accounts about the accused placing the bombs, forensic links connecting the explosives Purohit allegedly obtained through his military network, and intercepted calls about the bombing logistics. He told the court that this was a meticulously planned act of terror designed to divide communities. Rasal insisted that the intent behind the attack and the deliberate targeting of Muslims warranted the death penalty. Advocate Shrikant Shivade-led defence called the case politically motivated and alleged procedural flaws and fabricated evidence. He said key witnesses retracted their statements, raising doubts. Shivade argued that the evidence was unreliable. He said the accused were falsely implicated. The attack survivors and relatives of those killed have expressed their dismay over the delay in justice delivery. In October 2024, they urged the NIA court to hand down the maximum sentence (death penalty) to all seven accused, claiming that the prosecution had proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial in the case began in October 2018. The prosecution concluded the evidence presentation against the accused in September 2023 after examining 323 witnesses. The court recorded the statements of the seven accused under the Criminal Procedure Code's Section 313. Purohit and Chaturvedi examined witnesses in their defence. The examination of defence witnesses was concluded in July 2024.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
2008 Malegaon blast case: Special NIA court likely to give judgment on July 31
Continue to video 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by Live Events A Special NIA court here on Thursday said it will likely give the judgment in the 2008 Malegaon blast case on July 31, noting that the matter has voluminous documents and it needs some time to deliver the verdict. Almost 17 years after the blast, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court had on April 19 reserved the verdict for May 8. However, Special Judge A K Lahoti, presiding over the case, kept it for the next judge told the accused persons, present in the court, that the case has voluminous documents, and it will take some time to pass the judgment. He asked all the accused in the case to be present on July 31, the next people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai in north Maharashtra, on September 29, the trial, the prosecution examined 323 witnesses, of whom 34 turned hostile. Lt Col Prasad Purohit , BJP leader Pragya Thakur , Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni are facing trial in the case under the provisions the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA , and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).The case was initially probed by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the NIA in 2011.
Indian Express
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Judgment in 2008 Malegaon blast likely on July 31
A special court in Mumbai is likely to pronounce its judgment in the Malegaon 2008 blast case on July 31. Special judge A K Lahoti said on Thursday that the records and evidence in the case were voluminous and he was in the process of writing the judgment. The court had on April 19 reserved the case for orders and directed the accused to appear before it on May 8. Seventeen years ago, on September 29, 2008, a blast at Malegaon town near Nashik killed six people and injured over 100 others. Seven accused, namely former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sameer Kulkarni, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sudhakar Dhardwivedi, are on trial in the case, facing charges, including criminal conspiracy and murder under the Indian Penal Code and sections of the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Last month, judge Lahoti was given an extension till August 31, after he was initially proposed to be transferred in June in the annual general transfers of judges. Initially, the probe into the Malegaon blast case was conducted by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) led by Hemant Karkare, who was killed during the 26/11 terror attack. The ATS had arrested Thakur, claiming that her involvement was traced through an LML Freedom motorcycle, on which the bomb was allegedly planted by absconding accused Ramji Kalsangra. The others were subsequently arrested by the ATS, which claimed their involvement in the conspiracy to carry out the blast, planned to allegedly cause communal disharmony. It claimed that conspiracy meetings were held in various locations where the blast was planned. The ATS filed two chargesheets in the case, but in 2010, the probe was transferred to the newly formed federal agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The agency continued with its probe in the case till 2016 when a supplementary chargesheet was filed. In its chargesheet, while the NIA aligned with the ATS probe, it differed on certain aspects. It recommended dropping the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused and also said that there is not enough evidence to continue proceedings against some of the accused, including Thakur. The special court in 2017 dropped MCOCA; however, it refused to exonerate Thakur as an accused and said that she and six others would continue to face charges. The trial in the case began in December 2018. Since one of the accused, Dhardwivedi, contested that a blast had taken place, the prosecution examined over 100 witnesses who were injured or kin of the victims. The hearing of evidence in the case was closed in September 2023 after 323 witnesses deposed, 34 of whom turned hostile. Some of the witnesses who turned hostile were to depose on crucial aspects of the case related to alleged conspiracy meetings. Special public prosecutors (SPPs) Avinash Rasal and Anushree Rasal submitted that the prosecution had relied on witness statements and technical evidence like call data records and voice samples to prove its case. 'We examined 323 witnesses and technical evidence to bring on record the circumstances of the case. The delay in the trial proved to be a challenge as some witnesses turned hostile and over 30 passed away before the trial commenced,' SPP Rasal had said after the judgment was reserved. The accused maintained their stand that they had nothing to do with the blast. They claimed ATS officers illegally detained them and forced witnesses to give statements against them.
