Malegaon blast 2008: On bail, accused Sameer Kulkarni released from prison

Kulkarni is among the 14 accused booked in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blast case. He is the latest among several who have been released on bail this year. In April, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was released on bail and in August, the Supreme Court granted bail to key accused, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit.

In September, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi were granted bail by the NIA special court, while accused Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired) was granted bail by the Bombay High Court.

Now, only Rakesh Dhawade, another accused, is still in jail. Two other accused, Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, are still absconding. Sources said that Kulkarni, who lived in Bijlinagar in Chinchwad, was closely associated to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the past. A science graduate, he operated a computer shop for a short time, but devoted most of his time to the Hindutva movement and was linked to various right-wing groups in Pune, said sources.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad had picked him up from Bhopal, where he was allegedly working for Abhinav Bharat.

Kulkarni was also named an accused, along with Bajrang Dal activists, in a case registered with the Khadki police station for allegedly assaulting Pastor Peter Davis Silway of Vineyard Church in Dapodi in June 2007. But he was acquitted by the court in November 2008.

“Sameer did not take up the services of any lawyer and had filed his bail application himself. After being granted bail, he was released from jail today at 11.30 am,” said advocate Sanjiv Punalekar. Earlier, Kulkarni was provided legal aid by former Abhinav Bharat president Himani Savarkar, who died in October 2015.

Milind Joshirao, current president of Abhinav Bharat, said, “We are happy that Kulkarni is out on bail. He and his family have suffered for the last nine years. We hope that Rakesh Dhawade is also released soon”.