Malegaon blast case: 24th witness turns hostile; says could not recollect incident
The statement of the witness was recorded by NIA in 2011; However, when the witness was produced before the court, he could not recollect the incident and did not remember whether he had recorded the statement in 2011
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Mumbai, August 24: Another witness in the 2008 Malegaon Bomb Blast case was declared hostile by the special NIA court on Wednesday. The witness which was presented before the agency said that he could not recollect the incident.
An explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Nashik's Malegaon town which is located about 200 kms from Mumbai. The blast killed 6 people and more than 100 were injured on 29 September 2008.
All 7 accused are facing charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and relevant charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
They were booked under Sections 16 (committing the terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit a terrorist act) of the UAPA. Sections 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 153 (a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups) of the IPC. Relevant provisions of the Explosive Substances Act have also been invoked in the FIR.
The NIA took over the Malegaon Bomb Blast case in 2013. Earlier, the case was with Maharashtra ATS.
The statement of the witness was recorded by NIA in 2011. However, when the witness was produced before the court on Wednesday, he could not recollect the incident and did not remember whether he had recorded his statement before the agency back then in 2011.
He was thus declared hostile by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court. As many as 24 witnesses have turned hostile in Malegaon bombing case in which BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur is a prime accused.
An explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Nashik's Malegaon town which is located about 200 kms from Mumbai. The blast killed 6 people and more than 100 were injured on 29 September 2008.
The accused in the case include Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Lok Sabha MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Shudakar Diwedi, Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni, all of whom are out on bail.
They were booked under Sections 16 (committing the terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit a terrorist act) of the UAPA. Sections 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 153 (a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups) of the IPC. Relevant provisions of the Explosive Substances Act have also been invoked in the FIR.
The NIA took over the Malegaon Bomb Blast case in 2013. Earlier, the case was with Maharashtra ATS.
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