Malegaon blast: NIA court starts recording statements of BJP MP Pragya Thakur, six others

On Tuesday, the accused were asked questions related to people who died in the blast and also about the nature of injuries sustained by the survivors based on the testimonies of the doctors who treated the injured persons and who conducted autopsies on the victims. Around 60 questions were put to the accused, to which they mostly replied saying they “do not know” why the witnesses had said whatever they said in their testimonies before the court

Mumbai: The special NIA (National Investigation Agency) court on Tuesday began recording the statements of BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and six others, who are facing trial in the September 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, seeking their explanation on the evidence produced by the prosecution against them.

During the hearing, Thakur, who was asked to sit in the witness box, was seen uncomfortable when the court asked her about the injuries sustained by the victims of the blast and the survivors. The BJP leader could not bear it and became emotional. The court had to pause the hearing for a while for Thakur to take a break (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

On Tuesday, the accused were asked questions related to people who died in the blast and also about the nature of injuries sustained by the survivors based on the testimonies of the doctors who treated the injured persons and who conducted autopsies on the victims. Around 60 questions were put to the accused, to which they mostly replied saying they “do not know” why the witnesses had said whatever they said in their testimonies before the court.

During the hearing, Thakur, who was asked to sit in the witness box, was seen uncomfortable when the court asked her about the injuries sustained by the victims of the blast and the survivors. The BJP leader could not bear it and became emotional. The court had to pause the hearing for a while for Thakur to take a break.

Six people were killed, and 101 were injured on September 29, 2008, when a powerful explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque at Malegaon town in Nashik district, located about 200 kilometres from Mumbai.

The court would continue recording statements of the accused under section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) every day till it finishes all the questions to be asked to the accused persons, seeking their explanation on the incriminating evidence adduced by the prosecution against them. Section 313 of the CrPC confers an opportunity for the accused persons to put forth an explanation to the incriminating evidence against them.

On September 14, the NIA closed its evidence against the seven accused being tried for the alleged terrorist act. The other accused in the case include Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni.

The prosecution has examined 323 witnesses till now, of which 37 of them have turned hostile.