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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IPL mega auction to be held in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on November 24, 25: BCCI
New Delhi, Nov 5: The mega auction ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025 will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25, the BCCI announced on Tuesday.
This is the second successive year the auction is being held overseas as Dubai hosted the previous one ahead of the IPL 2024.
The player registration officially closed on Monday and a total of 1,574 cricketers (1,165 Indian and 409 overseas) have been signed up for the auction, which will clash with the third and fourth day’s play of the first Test between India and Australia in Perth, which begins on November 22.
Each franchise will be able to form a maximum squad of 25 players (including respective retained players), and a total of 204 slots will be up for grabs from the auction.
The list includes 320 capped players, 1,224 uncapped players and 30 players from the Associate Nations.
Among capped players, 48 are from India. Moreover, 965 uncapped players of the country will also be part of the auction.
This year’s auction will feature some high-profile India stars such as Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh.
The 10 franchises will collectively have around Rs 641.5 crore to spend for the available 204 slots.
Out of those 204 slots, 70 are earmarked for overseas players.
As of now, 46 players have been retained by the 10 franchises with cumulative expenditure of Rs 558.5 crore.
Each franchise was allocated Rs 120 crore to build their squads but after the retention process, which was announced on October 31, Punjab Kings have the biggest purse -- Rs 110.5 crore.
The Punjab outfit retained just two uncapped players -- Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh for Rs 9.5 crore.
Rajasthan Royals, under Sanju Samson, have the smallest purse of Rs 41 crore after retaining six players.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have also retained six players but they have a remaining purse of Rs 51 crore.
