Malegaon blast trial: Court issues bailable warrant against Pragya Thakur
Mumbai, Nov 5: A special NIA court here on Tuesday issued a bailable warrant against BJP leader Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, for failing to attend the proceedings.
Final arguments were going on and the presence of the accused is necessary, special judge A K Lahoti noted as he issued a bailable warrant of Rs 10,000 against Thakur.
The warrant is `returnable' by November 13 which means Thakur will have to appear before the court by then and get it cancelled.
The BJP leader's lawyer cited her health problems while requesting the special court for National Investigation Agency cases to grant her reasonable time to remain present.
But the court noted that Thakur, the accused number 1, had not attended the proceedings since June 4.
Her past applications for exemption on the grounds of illness and hospitalization were considered from time to time, the special judge said.
"Today, the application was filed, along with a xerox copy of the medical certificate, showing she is undergoing ayurvedic treatment, but the original certificate is not annexed," the court said while rejecting her plea.
Six people were killed and over 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 for alleged involvement in the blast conspiracy under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The case was initially probed by the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), Maharashtra, before being transferred to the National Investigation Agency in 2011.
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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.
