Malegaon victim's father, activist ask NIA court and EC to bar Sadhvi Pragya from contesting poll
Mumbai/New Delhi, Apr 18: A Malegaon blast victim's father and a political activist Thursday moved the special NIA court and the Election Commission respectively seeking barring of prime accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from contesting the Lok Sabha polls, a day after the BJP fielded her from Bhopal.
The BJP, meanwhile, said it will contest the polls in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh as a fight against the alleged "conspiracy" by the Congress to defame Hindu religion by linking it to terrorism.
The application before the National Investigation Agency(NIA) court in Mumbai was filed by Nisar Sayeed, who lost his son in the blast in 2008.
Special judge V S Padalkar sought replies from both the NIA and Thakur and posted the matter for Monday.
The applicant pleaded that Thakur, who is out on bail, be asked to attend court proceedings in Mumbai and be barred from contesting the election as the trial is in progress.
Thakur has spent nine years in jail and is out on bail since 2017 on health grounds.
If Thakur was "healthy enough to fight elections in the crippling summer heat", then she has misled the court, Sayeed alleged.
A petition seeking cancellation of her bail is pending before the Supreme Court, the applicant said.
Six people were killed and over 100 injured in a bomb blast at Malegaon, a communally-sensitive textile town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad(ATS) arrested Thakur and others in the case, alleging they were part of a Hindu extremist group which carried out the blast.
The NIA later gave Thakur a clean chit, but the court did not discharge her.
It dropped charges against her under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, but she is still facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Indian Penal Code sections.
In a letter to the Election Commission, Poonawalla said the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had found Thakur to be the "principal conspirator" in the Malegaon blast.
Her name has also cropped up in the Ajmer Dargah blast case, he said.
"I would humbly request the Election Commission of India to take further necessary steps to uphold the Model Code of Conduct 2019 and take appropriate action against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and debar her from contesting elections," the letter said.
He said in his letter that "a candidate accused with terror links must not be permitted to contest elections."
She also stands accused of "murder, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, and of promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion", said Poonawalla, who is known for his proximity with the Congress.
However, as per the law, any citizen above 25 years of age is eligible to contest polls unless convicted for any crime that entails punishment for two years or more.
Calling Thakur an innocent person, BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said she was tortured and asked opposition parties what problem they had if the BJP has fielded her as its candidate.
"We are contesting this election in Bhopal as a fight against the Congress conspiracy to insult Hindu religion by linking it to terrorism. Digvijay Singh was the face of this conspiracy," Rao told reporters in Delhi. Singh is the Congress candidate from the seat.
Rao alleged that Congress president Rahul Gandhi had "masterminded" this conspiracy, claiming that it was meant to appease a minority community.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
