25 April Malegaon: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sought the death penalty for ex-Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur and six others in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.
At the special court in Mumbai during the last arguments, NIA cited Section 16 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), where the persons involved in acts of terrorism resulting in deaths can face the death penalty. The agency also filed a detailed chargesheet exceeding 1,500 pages, highlighting the seriousness of the attack in which six Muslims were killed and over 100 were injured.
The court has now reserved its judgment, which will be delivered on May 8.
NIA had previously attempted to exonerate Sadhvi Pragya of the charges, claiming a lack of evidence. But now the agency has stood firm, asserting in no uncertain terms that no concessions should be made to her or any accused.
Besides Pragya Thakur, accused in the case are Colonel Prasad Purohit, Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Swami Dayanand Pandey, Ajay Rahirkar, Sameer Kulkarni, and Sudhakar Chaturvedi. The blast was part of a conspiracy based on extremist Hindutva ideologies, the prosecution alleges it.
Piling on the pressure, the Maharashtra legal cell of Jamiat Ulema has also called for capital punishment for the accused. Their lawyer, Shahid Nadeem, had assisted the NIA’s argument and averred that Section 16 of UAPA allows for the death penalty in terror cases that cause loss of lives.
As a reminder, the Malegaon blast took place in September 2008, close to a mosque, approximately 200 km from Mumbai. The bomb was purportedly planted on a motorcycle and detonated close to a Muslim congregation, leaving six dead and over a hundred wounded.
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