Malegaon blast accused Pragya Thakur appears in NIA court in Mumbai
Mumbai, Jun 7: Newly elected BJP MP and 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case accused Pragya Singh Thakur Friday appeared before a special court here.
It was Thakur's first appearance before the NIA court, which is conducting trial in the 11-year-old case, after being elected to Lok Sabha from Bhopal last month.
The last time she had shown up in the court was during framing of charges in the case in October last year.
Special NIA Judge V S Padalkar last month directed all the accused, including Thakur, to appear before the court at least once a week.
The judge then said an exemption from appearance would be granted only if cogent reasons were submitted.
On Monday, the special court rejected application of Thakur, who defeated Congress veteran Digvijay Singh from Bhopal, for exemption from appearance in the court this week.
The 49-year-old Hindutva activist had sought the exemption for completing formalities relating to her election to Parliament, but the court said her presence is necessary at this stage in the case.
On Thursday, her lawyer Prashant Magoo told the court she is suffering from high blood pressure and is unable to travel to Mumbai from Bhopal.
The court granted her exemption for the day and asked her to appear before it Friday.
"Today (Thursday), the exemption is granted. But she will have to appear on Friday else she will have to face consequences," the judge said.
Thakur was hospitalised for a stomach ailment in Bhopal Wednesday night and discharged early Thursday, her close aide Upma told PTI.
The court is recording the testimony of witnesses in the case.
Seven persons, including Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, are facing trial in the case.
Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a power-loom town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.
According to police, the motorbike was registered in Thakur's name and that led to her arrest in 2008.
The Bombay High Court granted her bail in 2017.
The accused are facing trial under various sections of the UAPA, the Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substances Act.
They have been charged under UAPA sections 16 (committing terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist act).
They are also facing charges under IPC sections 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 153(a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups).
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
