BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur appears before NIA court in Malegaon blast case

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, appeared before a special NIA court here on Monday. Thakur, one of the seven accused in the case, arrived around 2 pm, nearly two hours after the other accused in the case appeared before the court.

Thakur explained to the court that she had health problems that make it difficult for her to get up early in the morning. The case was therefore postponed until October 3 so that the accused may record their statements.

On September 14, the prosecution informed the court that they had finished recording the evidence in the case, and there was no requirement to examine any additional prosecution witnesses. After the completion of evidence recording, the court typically proceeds to record the statements of the accused individuals under section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

As per the provision, the court questions the accused generally on the case for the purpose of enabling them to personally explain any circumstances appearing in the evidence against them. Only six accused Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni appeared before the court on Monday.

Six people were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008. The case was initially probed by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before it was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011.