Malegaon blast victim's dad wants ATS at trial

TNN | May 14, 2019, 10.13 AM IST

 

 

 

MUMBAI: The father of a victim in Malegaon 2008 blast case has moved special NIA court seeking presence of ATS, the first investigating agency, during the trial. In his plea, Nisar Bilal (59), whose son Sayyed Ahmed was killed along with five others on September 29, 2008, said with 111 witnesses having deposed, for a fair and just trial, it was pertinent that ATS be present to assist NIA's special public prosecutor and the court.

"It is unfortunate that the investigating agency that recorded material statements and drew panchanamas against the accused is not interested in trial proceedings without cogent reasons," the plea said.

Special judge V S Padalkar directed NIA to file its reply on May 20.

The trial is under way against Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and five others. On October 30, charges were framed under UAPA, IPC and Explosive Substances Act. Maximum punishment under the charges is death penalty. Out on bail, Thakur is contesting Lok Sabha elections from Bhopal.

Bilal said NIA and ATS must work in sync for fair prosecution. "Instances such as tracing documents and witnesses have been a herculean task, and without assistance of ATS officers, it becomes more difficult to deal with them, often leading to delay or adjournments," the plea said. It said that since the court was considering ATS and NIA charge-sheets, officers from both should attend the trial. It said their presence was required "to assist the court, to save time and government expenditure". 

--Rebecca Samervel

 

The Times of India, May 14, 2019 

Lack of proof bails out 7 Jalna blast suspects

Rakesh Dhawade is also an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A Jalna sessions court on Wednesday acquitted seven accused, including antique dealer Rakesh Dhawade, in the Qadriya Mosque bomb blast case due to lack of evidence. Dhawade, arrested and chargesheeted within eight hours in November 2008 in Jalna, is still in jail for his alleged role in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
 

    Those acquitted include Yogendra Deshpande, Guru Raj, Jayaram Toptewar, Rahul Manohar Pandey, Sanjay Vitthalrao and Maruti Wagh. A bomb was hurled into the mosque on August 27, 2004. The case was later handed over to the Jalna crime branch.
 

    Dhawade was first arrested for his role in the Malegaon blast, along with Lt Col Prasad Purohit and others. “We will appeal in the high court against this acquittal,” said public prosecutor Pradip M Jadhav.
 

    Pune-based Dhawade was an arms and armour expert. He has a collection of nearly 2,000 historical artefacts and was also a consultant for the Aamir Khan-starrer Bollywood film ‘Mangal Pandey: The Rising’. Some of the rare articles in his collection are a sword — about 300 years old — with the Devi Kavacham stotra inscribed on its hilt and a 700-year-old Nepali sword belonging to a royal family. 

    After the ATS arrested Dhawade in the Malegaon case, he was handed over to the Jalna police for his alleged role in the mosque blast. The Jalna police had questioned him and filed a 56-page chargesheet an hour later on the same day. TOI had then written about the ATS’s hasty investigation.
 

    The Jalna police had then said that Dhawade participated in a terror camp where 7-8 youths were trained. These youths were also picked up for the Nanded, Parbhani and Purna (Parbhani) blasts. Dhawade has been accused of collecting funds for the rightwing group, Abhinav Bharat.
 

    Dhawade had told the police that he was the only Indian member of the Arms and Armour Society, London. He was awarded the UK Travel Award 2000-01 by the Nehru Trust at the London museum for research on the “study and exchange of themes of conservation and preservation of historical arms and armour in the UK”.

The Times of India, July 20, 2012

Chargesheet delay leads to bail for blast accused

MALEGAON CASE

Rebecca Samervel & Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Lokesh Sharma, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, was granted bail by a special MCOCA court on Tuesday after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) failed to file the chargesheet within the stipulated 90-day period. Special judge Y D Shinde granted bail to the suspected RSS worker, Sharma, on a personal bond of Rs 25000 after the 90-day period after his arrest lapsed on May 28. He will however continue to remain behind bars for his alleged involvement in two other blast cases.
 

    This is the first case in the recent past when a police agency failed to file the chargesheet in a terror case resulting in bail given to the accused. His lawyer Aarti Bhide said, “The bail application was filed on Tuesday. The NIA did not seek an extension to file the chargesheet.” Earlier, the court had granted bail to two other accused; Shamlal Sahu and Shivnarayan Kalsangra, in the Malegaon blast case. 

 
    On February 27, the NIA arrested Sharma who was in judicial custody for his alleged role in the Samjhauta Express blast that killed 70 people in 2007. The special court had issued a production warrant against him on February 23. 

    He was first held in 2010 and booked for his alleged role in the Ajmer dargah blast and later in the Samjhauta train blast case and the Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad. Sharma’s name cropped up while the police began interrogating other accused arrested in the Samjhauta blast case. Along with Sharma the NIA had charged Swami Aseemanand, Sadhvi Pragya, Sandeep Dange, Ramchandra Kalasangra alias Ramji and another accused now deceased, Sunil Joshi, for triggering the explosions in the train. 

    Earlier, on January 21, 2009, a chargesheet was filed against other accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case. Six people were killed and 101 were injured in the September 29, 2008, Malegaon bomb blasts. 

 

 

The Times of India, June 6,2012

NIA may take over terror cases in state

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: With the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) findings that the blasts at mosques in Jalna, Parbhani and Porna were the handiwork of right-wing hardliners, these cases may be handed over to the agency soon.
 

    The CBI is probing another case of blast that occurred on April 6, 2006 in Nanded. A bomb went off while being manufactured at an RSS pracharak’s residence, killing two and injuring two. The anti-terrorism squad (ATS), then headed by joint commissioner K P Raghuvanshi, had arrested 10 members of a right-wing group and chargesheeted them for planning and making a bomb. This case could also be given to NIA.
 

    TOI had earlier reported how the Nanded bomb blast, blasts in Jalna, Parbhani and Porna mosques were connected to each other. Nanded police had initially said the victims (who later turned accused) were injured after fire crackers went off. However, an ATS probe said it was a conspiracy and the accused were manufacturing a bomb.
 

    “The Porna, Jalna, Parbhani, Nanded, 2006 Malegaon blast and the 2008 Malegaon blasts are all linked to each other. We did not think the racket could be so big,” said a source from the security establishment.
 

    In 2003, two bike-borne persons hurled a bomb outside the Mohammadi mosque in Parbhani after the Friday namaz. Seven persons were injured. On August 27, 2004, bike-borne persons threw a bomb inside the Qadriya mosque that injured nine. In November 2004, a bomb thrown outside a Porna mosque injured at least three.
 

    In 2011, union home minister P Chidambaram asked the NIA to probe all the cases where the agency found the involvement of the right-wing group. To begin with, the agency started probing the Samjhauta train blast case and arrested a some rightwing group hardliners. Meanwhile, the CBI arrested members of another right-wing group in connection with the 2007 Hyderabad Mecca masjid blast and the Rajasthan ATS arrested around six members of a right-wing group for the Ajmer dargah blast.
 

    Last year, the Malegaon blasts case that killed 38 was transferred to NIA. “Since NIA is making major breakthrough, the blasts that took place in Marathwada region between 2003 and 2006 are likely to be handed over to them. The training in operating fire arms and bomb-making of these suspects was executed in Pune’s Sinhgarh, Nanded and Madhya Pradesh’s Panchmadi,” said a source.
 

 

BREAKTHROUGHS
• 2003: A bomb thrown on a mosque in Parbhani injured seven. Five persons arrested

• 2004: 2 bike-borne men threw a bomb inside a Jalna mosque in Jalna injuring nine. Five persons were held

• 2004: A bomb thrown outside a Porna mosque injured at least three. Four were arrested and chargesheeted

• 2006: A bomb went off while being manufactured by four persons in Nanded. Two suspects, Himanshu Panse and Naresh Rajkondwar, died. Rajkondwar was son of Laxman, an executive engineer with state’s irrigation department.

 

The Times of India, May 1, 2012

Malegaon blast ’08: Samjhauta suspect held

Lokesh Sharma

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested suspected RSS worker Lokesh Sharma, an accused in the Samjhauta Express blast, in connection with the 2008 Malegaon explosion that killed seven.

Sharma, who was arrested on Sunday, was first held in 2011 and booked for his alleged role in the Ajmer dargah blast and later in the Samjhauta train blast case.

His name cropped up while the police began interrogating other accused arrested in the Samjhauta train blast case that had resulted in the deaths of around 70 people, mostly Pakistanis.

“He was produced before the court and remanded in police custody till March 9. We cannot disclose about his role in the blast at this juncture,” said special public prosecutor Rohini Salian.

The Times of India, February 28, 2012

Sadhvi kin to approach court for her safety in jail

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: A relative of the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast suspect, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, will approach the special MCOCA court on Friday to demand protection for her at the Byculla women’s prison. This comes after a suspected Nigerian female drug peddler allegedly abused Thakur and fought with her jail mate.

The application will be moved by advocate Ganesh Sovani on behalf of Thakur’s brother in-law, Bhagwan Bhai Jha. Thakur has been in jail since November 3, 2008. Jha’s application states that African female undertrials lodged in the same jail had created a ruckus on the premises and had gheraoed Thakur and manhandled her jail inmate Rita Jaiswal on October 27. It added that Thakur was repeatedly abused and heckled as well.

The application further stated that when the matter was reported to the jail authorities, even they could not overpower over the African inmates, who were physically much stronger than them. “If the jail authorities send police personnel to sort out the issue, then these African female undertrials try to undress themselves and scream and shout,” Jha stated in the application.

Jha believes that the court may seek a report from the superintendent of Byculla Jail about the incident that took place on October 27, and direct jail authorities to take appropriate steps for the security of Thakur and Jaiswal. The application further stated that a year-and-a-half ago, an undertrial had physically assaulted Thakur.

Assault, fighting and brawls among the jail inmates is not a new thing in city prisons. In April this year, Maria Sussairaj— who was arrested for TV executive Neeraj Grover’s murder—had entered into a scuffle with a South African female drug peddler inside the Byculla prison. The woman constable who intervened was injured. Maria was later acquitted by the court in the murder case.

Sources from the jail said a routine search of all the inmates was on. This practice is carried out in all barracks and cells in jails across Maharashtra. Maria was talking to some other inmate when the South African inmate allegedly pushed her. They had a heated argument before they caught hold of each other, said the source.

The Times of India, November 4,2011

Malegaon cases delayed as NIA court not set up yet

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: It has been over a month since the investigation of the 2006 Malegaon serial bomb blasts was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The Maharashtra government has not notified a court for NIA yet. This has led to a delay in hearing of the blast cases.

In the first week of April, the Union government told the NIA to take over the investigation of the 2008 Malegaon blast, in which members of the right-wing Abhinav Bharat were arrested. A special court for the NIA cases was not set up. Legal experts say as per Section 11 of the NIA Act, 2008, the agency should appoint or request the government to appoint a special court within seven days of taking over a case.

“Papers asking for a special NIA court have been sent to the government. The process is on and will be completed soon,” said public prosecutor for NIA cases in Maharashtra Rohini Salian. Thirty-seven people were killed and 400 injured in the 2006 and 2008 Malegaon blasts.

On April 15, the NIA officials informed principal sessions judge Sapna Joshi that they had registered an FIR for the 2006 Malegaon blast. Since the agency has not been notified a court, it approached the special Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) court for hearing in the two cases on May 7. However, judge Y D Shinde turned down the NIA’s appeal to hear the cases as the MCOCA court did not have any intimation to hear they agency’s cases.


The Times of India, May 9, 2011

NIA asked to submit findings

MALEGAON BLASTS

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The special court hearing the Malegaon blasts case on Saturday directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to inform the court about the investigations being carried by the agency through a proper notification.

“The NIA sought permission for further investigation into the Malegaon blast case,” said Irfana Hamdani, one of the advocated representing the accused. The court also instructed the CBI to submit its investigation report by May 13. The CBI had in January sought permission for further probe into the 2006 blasts. The case was later transferred to the NIA in April.


The Times of India, May 8, 2011

NIA to take over 2008 Malegaon blast investigation

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Union government has told the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) to hand over investigations into the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

“We received instructions from the Union government to hand over the case to the NIA. We are waiting for NIA officials to take custody of all the papers and the case. They will be handed over to them soon,” ATS chief Rakesh Maria confirmed.

Six people were killed and 101 were injured in the September 29, 2008, Malegaon bomb blast. Twelve members of the rightwing outfits, Jai Vande Mataram and Abhinav Bharat, were arrested. All the accused, including a serving Indian Army lieutenant colonel, Prasad Shrikant Purohit, face action under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA).

Earlier, the government had indicated its willingness to hand over all cases, where saffron groups were allegedly involved, to the NIA. The Samjhauta Express bomb blast, in which 68 persons were killed, is being investigated by the NIA. Spiritual leader, Swami Aseemanand, is an accused in the Samjhauta case.

The Hyderabad Mecca Masjid bomb blast, in which 11 people were killed, and the Ajmer dargah bomb blast, in which three persons were killed, may also be handed over to the NIA.

The Maharashtra ATS had arrested 11 persons for their alleged roles in the Malegaon blasts in October and November 2008. Pravin Mutalik, a member of the Abhinav Bharat, was arrested on January 31, 2011. “The accused wanted to cause a lot of casualties but could not succeed in their conspiracy,” an ATS officer said. Aseemanand, arrested in October 2010, had confessed that the conspiracies of the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, the Ajmer dargah blast, the Mecca Masjid bomb blast and the Samjhauta train blast, were hatched by the saffron groups. “All cases are interconnected and the accused are mostly common,” said an officer who is part of the Malegaon bomb blasts case.

Earlier, the case of the Malegaon serial bomb blasts, in which 38 people were killed and 297 were injured on September 8, 2006, was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The ATS, which initially probed the case, had arrested 13 youths allegedly belonging to the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The case was transferred to the CBI after residents of Malegaon agitated against the arrests.

The Times of India, April 6, 2011

Sadhvi to be taken to MP

Mumbai: The special MCOCA court on Tuesday granted permission to the Madhya Pradesh police to take 2008 Malegaon bomb blast accused, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, to Dewas for investigation into the murder of RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi. Police said Joshi was a prime suspect in the Samjhauta train blast, Hyderabad Mecca Masjid bomb blast, Ajmer dargaha blast etc.

Rameshwar Geete, Sadhvi’s lawyer, said, “The court has asked to Byculla jail authorities to take Sadhvi to MP either by a plane or train. The JJ hospital, where Sadhvi is undergoing treatment, has submitted a report that she can travel by train or plane.”


March 30, 2011

Rajasthan ATS team arrives to question Sadhvi

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) team arrived at JJ Hospital on Friday to question 2008 Malegaon
bomb blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur for her alleged role in the Ajmer dargah bomb blast case.

Pragya (40), who was arrested in October 2008 in the Malegaon blast case, is undergoing treatment at JJ Hospital. The Rajasthan ATS, while filing the charge sheet in the October 11, 2007 Ajmer bomb blast case, mentioned the sadhvi as one of the accused. “Our team is in Mumbai to question the sadhvi in our case,” said an officer from the Rajasthan ATS. Three persons were killed and over a dozen injured when a bomb went off at the time of iftar in the month of Ramzan.

“We are interrogating her. Once our officers talk to her, we will decide the further course of action,” said the officer. Pragya has been named one of the chief conspirators in the case. A senior RSS leader, Indresh Kumar, has also been named in the case. An officer with the Rajasthan ATS said the sadhvi had attended a conspiracy meeting on July 29, 2005 at a Gujarat Samaj guest house in Rajasthan.

Pragya was, on February 26, also booked for her alleged role for the murder of an RSS pracharak, Sunil Joshi.

The Times of India, March 19, 2011

CBI to quiz Aseemanand on Malegaon blast case

Swami Aseemanand

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A CBI team conducting a reinvestigation into the Malegaon blast in 2006 is likely to question Swami Aseemanand on his role in the tragedy that claimed 37 lives.

The CBI team will file an application in the court seeking permission to question Aseemanand, a prime suspect in the Mecca Masjid bomb blast in Hyderabad. The 59-year-old swami, in his confessional statement given before a magistrate in Delhi, had in December said the Malegaon blast on September 8, 2006 was plotted by his men.

Meanwhile, interrogation of Abhinav Bharat member and an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, Praveen Venkatesh Takalki alias Pravin Mutalik, has revealed he was askedtofind a bomb-making formula from theinternet. “Lt Col Prasad Purohit had asked me to surf the internet and find a bomb-making formula,” Mutaliktoldinvestigators in the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS). Mutalik was arrested on January 31 from Karnataka.

The ATS has zeroed in on three youths who were given training in making bombs. Their statements have been recorded before a magistrate to make it admissible evidence in court.

“Some would be arrested in the blast case while others could be used as witnesses,” said ATS chief Rakesh Maria. “Mutalik’s case is an example of how Purohit used his military intelligence experience to ensure that no one suspected his involvement. He even changed Takalki’s name to Mutalik, making it difficult to trace him,” said a senior officer in the security establishment.

The police said Mutalik had worked as a personal secretary to Purohit for three months before the blast.

The Times of India, March 15, 2011

Army told to hold Purohit probe again

Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Armed Forces Tribunal has directed the army to reconvene the court of inquiry (CoI) against Malegaon blasts accused Lt Colonel Shrikant Purohit.

The CoI examined certain witnesses in the absence of Purohit, arrested in November 2008 by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), who had “no opportunity to cross-examine them”, the tribunal said.

This violated Army Rule 180, which prescribes that personnel whose military reputation is being questioned should have mandatory presence and be allowed to crossexamine the witnesses.

“The CoI suffers from the vice of irregularity...It would be just and proper to direct the army to further convene the CoI from the state when the statements of the witnesses were recorded on September 1, 2010, in the absence of Purohit,” said the tribunal.

The army was set to sack Purohit after the CoI against him was conducted from April 2009 to September 2010.

The Times of India (Nation), March 10, 2011

Lt Col sent youths for terror training

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The interrogation of Pravin Mutalik, who is suspect to have planted to bomb in the 2008 Malegaon blast, has revealed that he along with coaccused Lt Col Prasad Purohit had sent several new recruits for terror training to at least three places in the country. “More arrests are likely soon in the case,” said ATS chief Rakesh Maria.

According to Maria, Mutalik, also a bomb maker had identified potential hardline boys and introduced them to Purohit. “They arranged these boys’ training for bomb making, handling firearms, and using explosives. We have brought these boys to our office. Some of them have become our witnesses and their statements have been recorded before a magistrate under section 164 of the CrPc,” said Maria. A statement given before a magistrate is admissible in court.

Mutalik was arrested last month after evading arrest for two years. “Our teams visited to three training centers. The recruits seem to be new as their names did not come up in the probe earlier,” added Maria. Purohit, a serving officer, was arrested for engineering the blast which killed seven on September 29, 2008.

The Times of India, March 8, 2011 (Times Nation)

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Malegaon blast accused bail hearing adjourned

Mumbai: Judge Yatin D Shinde of the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on March 7 adjourned the bail hearing of suspects caught for the 2006 Malegaon mosque blast till March 10.

Seven youth from Malegaon, one from Mumbai and a civil engineer from Jalgaon were arrested for designing and executing the 2006 Malegaon serial bomb blast which killed 37 and injured 297 others. The ATS stated that these boys wanted to create a riot like situation in the state and therefore they planted bombs in a cemetery adjacent to a mosque. After the confessional statement of Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the Hyderabad Mecca Masjid where he claimed the responsibility of engineering the Malegaon blasts, those arrested by the ATS in 2006 moved to the court seeking bail.

Meanwhile, the JJ Hospital has filed a report about the health of 2008 Malegaon bomb blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. An argument will be conducted on the report on Tuesday. Sadhvi has been charged with the murder of RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi in MP and the MP police wants to take her there for probe. However, her lawyer told the court that she is not in a position to walk. Based on this, the court asked the JJ hospital authorities to file a report.

Court Asks JJ Hosp If Pragya Can Travel 18 Hours To MP

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakukr

Med report on Sadhvi sought

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The special Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) court has asked JJ Hospital authorities to submit a report on the health of 2008 Malegaon bomb blast accused, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. The Madhya Pradesh police wants to take her to MP for investigation in connection with a murder case. However, Pragya’s lawyer argued that she was in no shape to travel for almost 18 hours.

Pragya was arrested by the MP police in connection with the murder of Sunil Joshi, an RSS pracharak and a suspect in the Samjhauta Express blast case. Joshi, believed to be an associate of the sadhvi, was shot dead on December 29, 2007, near his house in Dewas, MP. Two men on a motorbike and others in a van had shot Joshi from close range.

Sources said that while the police have to produce Pragya before an MP court on March 9, the MCOCA court in Mumbai has asked the JJ Hospital authorities to submit a detailed report on Pragya’s health. The court also wants to know whether the 40-yearold accused is in a position to undertake such a long journey or not. The hospital will be submitting its report on March 7. The MP police had earlier sought the permission of the special MCOCA court to arrest Pragya in the case. A team of MP police officers has questioned Pragya at least two times in the past week.

The sadhvi is currently undergoing treatment at JJ Hospital. Sources close to Pragya told TOI that her health was deteriorating and she could not even walk due to several ailments. “She is under treatment for several diseases. She cannot sit and walk properly. There is no sensation in her legs due to continuous police torture,” a source close to Pragya said. Pragya was arrested in the Malegaon blast case after the Anti-Terrorism Squad found that the bike used to plant the bomb was registered in her name.

The Times of India, March 5, 2011

Sadhvi held for 2007 murder of RSS worker

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur

Victim Was Key Suspect In Samjhauta Blast Case

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case, was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police in connection with the murder of Sunil Joshi, an RSS worker and a suspect in the Samjhauta Express blast case, late on Friday.

Joshi, believed to be an associate of the sadhvi, was shot dead on December 29, 2007, near his house in Dewas, MP. Two men on a motorbike and others in a Maruti van had shot Joshi from close range.

The MP police had sought the permission of the special MCOCA court to question Pragya in the case.

The sadhvi is currently under treatment at JJ Hospital. While the MP police are planning to take her to Dewas for further investigation, sources close to Pragya told TOI that her health is deteriorating and she can’t even walk due to several ailments.

Pragya was arrested in the Malegaon blast case after the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad found that the bike used to plant the bomb was registered in her name.

During interrogation, Pragya told the sleuths that she had sold the bike to Joshi, who is a suspect in various blast cases, including on Samjhauta Express and at Ajmer and Hyderabad.

Sixty-eight people were killed when bombs went off in two coaches of Samjhauta Express, running between Delhi and Lahore, around midnight on February 18, 2007, at Diwana near Panipat.

A team from the Industrial Area police station in Dewas interrogated Pragya for an hour in the hospital on Saturday. So far, five others—BJP corporator from Dewas Ram Charan Patel and RSS activists Harshad Solanki, Vasudev Parmar, Anand Raj and Mehul—have been arrested in connection with the murder. Patel was arrested last month for destruction of evidence.

The Times of India, February 27, 2011

2008 Malegaon blast: Mutalik’s police custody is extended

Mumbai: A special Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Monday extended the police custody of 2008 Malegaon blast suspect Praveen Venkatesh Takalki alias Praveen Mutalik to February 21.

Mutalik (32), who holds a diploma in mechanical engineering, was arrested on January 31, after being untraceable for two years. Booked under MCOCA, he was picked up from outside his sim card shop at Gokak town in Belgaum district, Karnataka.

With this, the number of arrests in the case has gone up to 12. The others arrested include key accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit. Seven people were killed in the blast on September 29, 2008, in Malegaon. TNN


The Times of India, February 15, 2011

2 yrs on, ATS still to decide 3 cases’ fate

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Maharashtra ATS, probing the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, is still undecided on three cases of criminal conspiracy.

In one such conspiracy, the suspects plotted the assassination of India’s vice president, Hamid Ansari. In the second case, the conspiracy to eliminate RSS leader Indresh Kumar was hatched. The third case was the conspiracy to carry out blasts to stoke communal disharmony.

The ATS had arrested 11 members of outfits like Jai Vande Matram and Abhinav Bharat for the 2008 Malegaon blast. Several radical leaders like Bhai Dalvi and BJP member B L Sharma had exhorted people in a closed-door meeting to defend Hindus. The meeting was videographed by Pandey using his laptop. The meeting’s CD is now part of evidence in the blast case.

In another meeting on January 26, 2008, Delhi-based Dr R P Singh, the president of the World Hindu Federation, had said he was carrying 15 litres of petrol to a function that Ansari was to attend. However, he could not carry out the plan to kill Ansari, he had claimed.

ATS chief Rakesh Maria said they were “still taking legal opinion”.


The Times of India, February 7, 2011

‘Mutalik used Abhinav Bharat funds for business’

NABBED: Praveen Mutalik being brought to Mumbai after being arrested by the ATS from Karnataka

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Praveen Venkatesh Takalki alias Praveen Mutalik, who was arrested on January 31 last year for his alleged role in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, used Abhinav Bharat funds to set up his own business. The funds had been raised to run the radical outfit.

Mutalik, who is suspected to have helped the other accused in assembling the RDX bomb, had fetched more than Rs 3 lakh from the co-accused and founder of Abhinav Bharat, Lt Col Prasad Purohit. Investigators said that Mutalik had kept the money with him and soon after the arrests began, he vanished with it. Not only Mutalik, say investigators, even Purohit had cheated members of Abhinav Bharat and those who raised funds for the outfit. “Purohit took over Rs 4 lakh from the organization’s treasurer, Ajay Rahirkar, and used the money to buy a flat in Nashik,” said an officer. Moreover, Rs 1 lakh was given to Purohit’s sister, Vasanti. Mutalik, too, took money from the organization’s funds and fled with it after the arrests. “We suspect that he had used this money to start a mobile shop in Karnataka,” said an officer.

Mutalik was picked up from outside his mobile sim card selling shop at Gokak town in Belgaum district of Karnataka where he had been operating the shop in partnership with another person.

Mutalik (32), who holds a diploma in mechanical engineering, was arrested after being untraceable for two years.

He has been booked under MCOCA and remanded to police custody till February 14.

The Times of India, February 4, 2011

Key Malegaon blast accused Muthalik held

S Ahmed Ali TNN

Mumbai: Praveen Venkatesh Takalki, alias Muthalik, a key accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, was arrested by the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) from Gokak district, Karnataka, on Monday night. He was on the run for two years.

Muthalik (32) is the 12^th accused to be arrested in the case, with the police still looking for two more—Ramji Kalsangra and Dange, who were part of the Hindu rightwing group that triggered the (September 29) blast killing six people and injuring 101. Muthalik, a member of Abhinav Bharat, was produced before the special Mcoca (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) court on Tuesday, which remanded him in police custody till February 14. The court in August 2010 had issued a proclamation against him.

Muthalik ran a SIM card distribution agency in Gokak. One of the reasons why he escaped the police’s radar for so long is because he remained in the village under his real name, which the police had no inkling of.

“After the Mcoca court issued the proclaimation, we formed a special team and started tracking him. A fortnight ago, we narrowly missed him. But after specific information, our team, led by ACP Vinod Satav, arrested Muthalik,” said ATS chief Rakesh Maria. “He has played an important role in the blast conspiracy. We want to extract a lot of information from him as he was personal secretary to Colonel (Shrikant Prasad) Purohit.”

According to the charge sheet, Muthalik, who has a diploma in mechanical engineering, was present, along with Purohit, at almost all blast conspiracy meetings in Nashik, Panchmadi and Pune. “Our investigations have revealed that Muthalik took the keys of the room (where the bombs were assembled) from co-accused Sudhakar Chaturvedi at the behest of Purohit. We also have scientific evidence to connect swab found in that room to swab found at the blast site,” Maria said.


The Times of India, February 2, 2011