A SPECIAL NIA court has rejected the application filed by 2008 Malegaon blasts accused Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit seeking to be transferred from judicial custody to military custody. Purohit had filed an application in May stating that he was apprehensive about his security in Taloja central prison and should be transferred to the custody of the Indian Army. The army had said that it had no objection to taking his custody if the court so directs. The NIA, however, had objected to the plea, stating it would delay the trial. On Friday, the court also ordered that Purohit be shifted from the hospital ward in Taloja central jail to a regular cell or a high-security cell, special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal said. Meanwhile, the appellate authority hearing appeals under the Right to Information Act heard retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, also an accused in the blasts case, on Friday. Upadhyay submitted before Special Judge GA Sanap that he was refused information on an inquiry ordered by the special NIA court on an alleged omission made to a court order, which allowed Purohit to remain in a hospital ward of the jail from 2011. The inquiry is pending. The court has reserved the appeal for orders.
