Malegaon Blast Accused Pragya Thakur Seeks Trial Exemption Due To Health Reasons

Member of Parliament and one of the accused in the Malegaon blast case, Pragya Singh Thakur, has requested exemption from attending trial proceedings at a Mumbai court, citing health issues. She appeared nearly two hours late for the court hearing, informing the court about her health condition, which hindered her from attending early morning sessions. The special court under the National Investigation Agency Act (NIA Act) adjourned the matter to October 3 for recording the statements of the accused.

The Malegaon blast in 2008 resulted in six fatalities and over 100 injuries. The case was initially handled by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the NIA in 2011. Charges were framed against Thakur and other accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in October 2018.

Despite the NIA citing 400 witnesses in its chargesheet, 21 of them passed away during the trial. The trial began almost five years after the prosecution concluded its evidence. Of the 323 witnesses produced by the NIA in court, 34 turned hostile. The NIA confirmed that it had no further prosecution witnesses to present.

Following this, the court summoned the seven accused to appear in court to record their statements under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. While six out of seven accused appeared in court at the stipulated time, Thakur arrived later and explained her health condition.

The other accused present in court included Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni. The seventh accused, Sudhakar Dwivedi, was not present, and the court rejected his plea for exemption, issuing a bailable warrant of ₹5,000 against him.

Author: Anushka Taraniya

News Writer, MIT ADT University