BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur withdraws plea in HC seeking discharge from Malegaon blast case
Mumbai, Dec 1: Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha MP Pragya Singh Thakur and co-accused Sameer Kulkarni on Thursday withdrew their pleas from the Bombay High Court seeking discharge from the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.
Thakur and Kulkarni withdrew their petitions, filed in 2018, as the trial is in its fag end and 289 witnesses have been examined already.
Another accused, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, withdrew one of his petitions alleging defective sanction to prosecute him under provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Purohit's plea for discharge was heard by HC last week and is closed for orders.
In December 2017, the special court had rejected their pleas following which they moved HC.
Advocate Prashant Maggu, appearing for Thakur, on Thursday told HC since 289 witnesses have already been examined by the trial court, it would not be right to press for discharge from the case at this juncture and, hence, they would withdraw the plea.
The HC accepted the statement.
On September 29, 2008, 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 communally sensitive town in Maharashtra's Nashik district.
As per police, the motorcycle was registered in Thakur's name. which led to her arrest. The case was later handed over to the NIA.
Besides Thakur, Kulkarni and Purohit, others facing trial in the case are Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sudhakar Chaturvedi. They have been charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
All the accused are currently out on bail.
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
