Indian Army's Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, a Malegaon blast accusedKartikeya & Mateen Hafeez I TNN Mumbai: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra police suffered a major setback in the Malegaon blast case on Friday when a special court in Mumbai dropped all charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against 11 suspects, including former armyman Lt Col Prasad Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.
The dropping of charges means that the accused will no longer face trial under the stringent law and their case will be sent back to a regular court in Nashik. As long was MCOCA was applicable to the case, the prosecution enjoyed a considerable advantage as it could use confessions given by the accused to police officers as evidence. The decision to strike down MCOCA may also make it easier for the accused to get bail.
Six people were killed in Malegaon on September 29 last year when a bomb fitted on a motorcycle went off. The police traced the bike to Pragya Singh Thakur, a religious preacher. The police zeroed in on Purohit after his name cropped up in phone intercepts.
The Times of India, August 1, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment