2008 Malegaon blast accused Samir Kulkarni gets police protection

On Wednesday, Samir Kulkarni, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case was provided with an armed security guard at his Pune residence by the police. This comes a few months after he reportedly wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding security cover on an urgent basis. However, he did not mention any specific threat in the letter. He is suspected to have arranged the chemicals used in an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle which exploded on September 29, 2008, leading to the death of 6 people and leaving over 100 people injured. This blast took place near a mosque in Malegaon, a town in north Maharashtra.   

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Framing of charges 

In April 2017, a session court in Mumbai granted bail to Kulkarni on a bond of Rs. 50,000. This was done on the grounds of parity, as several other accused in the case including Lt Col Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, and retired Army Major Ramesh Upadhyay had been already granted bail. However, he and the other accused suffered a setback in October 2018 as a special court in Mumbai framed charges against them. Judge Vinod Padalkar framed charges against them under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code. If convicted under these provisions, the accused could potentially face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.  

Read: "Malegaon Accused Will Be In Parliament": Sharad Pawar On Pragya Thakur

Bombay HC adjourns the hearing 

The Bombay High Court, in October this year adjourned the hearing of the application filed by the accused to be discharged from the 2008 Malegaon blast case till November 18. The accused, including Kulkarni, have also challenged the UAPA sanction as they contended that the necessary permission was not taken from the competent authority. Furthermore, the High Court would also hear the issue about the validity of secondary evidence. 

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