Malegaon blast case: NIA court exempts accused Pragya Thakur from appearing in court

The Special NIA court on Tuesday, granted BJP MP Pragya Thakur exemption from physically appearing in day-today hearings on the 2008 Malegaon blast case, till further orders. Thakur - one of the seven accused in the case -  had sought an exemption citing ill health and security concerns. After skipping several hearings, Thakur appeared on January 4 after the special NIA court expressed displeasure over the absence of accused persons in the last hearing.

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Pragya Thakur granted exemption

Attending the hearing on Monday, Pragya Thakur stated that she was admitted to AIIMS, Delhi for treatment during the previous hearing seeking exemption from daily appearances in court on grounds of her ill health. She said, "Court had called me. Today I appeared in court. On the previous hearing, I was admitted to AIIMS. My treatment is going on, I have many injuries, thanks to Congress. Anyone can accuse anything, but the truth remains the truth," said Sadhvi Pragya after appearing in court on January 4. Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court will hear Malegaon blast-accused Lt Colonel Purohit's plea seeking quashing of his prosecution by the NIA on January 6.

2008 Malegaon blast case: Bombay HC to hear accused Col. Purohit's plea on January 6

What is the Malegaon case?

On September 29, 2008,  six people were killed and a dozen others were injured when a bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded in Maharashtra's Malegaon.  The ATS team was led by ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who was later killed in the 26/11 attacks, arrested seven accused - Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Shiv Narayan Gopal Singh Kalsanghra, Shyam Bhawarlal Sahu, serving Army officer - Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit and others. While the ATS investigation had unearthed that several of the accused may have been involved in other acts of terrorism including the Modasa blast in Gujarat, the Malegaon blast of 2006, the Mecca Masjid Blast in Hyderabad in 2007 and the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, the MCOCA charges were dropped by a special NIA court.

Malegaon blast case: Sadhvi Pragya seeks exemption from physical appearances in court

Thakur- who was then an ABVP student leader, was later released on bail due to claims of having contracted breast cancer in April 2017. She still faces trial under other criminal provisions including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and has publically claimed 'torture' by Karkare. She has now been elected to Lok Sabha after defeating Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh in 2019 Bhopal Lok Sabha polls.

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