2 Malegaon blast accused seek bail

The duo had their previous bail applications rejected two weeks ago by sessions judge S D Tekale, who has been charged with hearing bail applications by the Supreme Court.

Colonel Prasad Purohit and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi alias Swami Amritanand Dev Tirth, two accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast, have filed fresh bail applications at a special MCOCA Court Saturday, claiming that the chargesheet filed against them in 2013 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was invalid as the agency’s probe was still underway.

The duo had their previous bail applications rejected two weeks ago by sessions judge S D Tekale, who has been charged with hearing bail applications by the Supreme Court.

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In their latest bail applications, Purohit and Dwivedi have sought bail under section 167 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which states that an accused has an “indefensible right to bail” if the investigation is not completed by the prosecuting agency within a given time frame.

Their applications also state that as the NIA has not yet completed its probe, the chargesheet it filed against the two accused is invalid. Their applications are likely to be heard by the court on Monday.

The September 29, 2008 blast killed four people and injured 80 in Malegaon and was first probed by the Maharashtra Anti Terror Squad, before the probe was handed over to the NIA in 2011. The agency has appointed senior counsel Avinash Rasal as its public prosecutor following disclosures made by his predecessor Rohini Salian that the NIA had asked her to “go soft” against the alleged Hindu extremists arrested for the role in the blast.

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