Malegaon blast: BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur appears before trial court

Pragya Thakur

BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, on Thursday appeared before the trial court here.

The Bhopal MP remained present before the special judge for NIA cases, A K Lahoti, as an official of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad who had arrested her was deposing as a witness.

The ATS official was cross-examined by Thakur's lawyer during the day's proceedings.

Also read: Wear hijab at home, not in educational institutions except madrassas: Pragya Thakur

She arrived around 12 PM and sat on the wooden bench assigned for the accused.

Later the court allowed her to sit on a chair after she complained of backache. The court also conducted the proceedings in Hindi (instead of Marathi and English) on Thakur's request.

Seven persons, including Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, are facing trial in the case.

As many as 26 witnesses have turned hostile in the case until now.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a communally sensitive town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

According to police, the motorcycle was registered in Thakur's name which led to her arrest.

The Bombay High Court granted her bail in 2017.

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