Malegaon blast: Pragya Thakur faces new warrant after skipping court date again
Mumbai, Nov 13: A special court here on Wednesday issued a fresh bailable warrant against former BJP MP Pragya Thakur, a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, as she failed to appear before it citing health issues.
This was the second warrant issued this month against Thakur by the special court for National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases.
On November 5, the court had issued a warrant against her for failing to attend the proceedings, and directed her to appear on November 13.
On Wednesday, Thakur's lawyer J P Mishra told the court that she could not appear as she was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bhopal.
He also submitted related medical records.
The judge then issued a fresh bailable warrant of Rs 10,000 and directed her to remain present in the court on December 2.
The trial is at the fag end, and the court has repeatedly asked all the accused to remain present for daily hearings.
Six people were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town in north Maharashtra about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008.
Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and five others are on trial in the case for their alleged involvement in the blast conspiracy.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
