2008 Malegaon case: Sadhvi Pragya’s bail plea to be heard on June 6

Mumbai : A Mumbai court on Monday agreed to hear the bail plea of 2008 Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur on June 6.

Pragya’s lawyer Prashant Maggu filed the bail plea earlier in the day after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) decided to drop her name from the list of accused in its chargesheet.

On May 13, the NIA decided not to name Pragya in its chargesheet in connection with the case. The agency also dropped charges against her under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The NIA in its chargesheet recommended discharging four accused – Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Shyam Sahu, Shiv Narayan Kalsangra and Praveen Takkalki – saying there was no evidence to prosecute them.

The Malegaon 2008 blast case was a first case in which Hindu extremists, including Lt. Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, were chargesheeted by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in 2009.

The September 2008 blast in the Muslim-majority Malegaon town killed six people and injured 101 others.

The NIA took over the case in 2011. (ANI)