Mumbai: Sixteen years after the 2008 Malegaon blast, a special NIA (National Investigation Agency) court on Thursday issued a warrant to attach properties of absconding accused Ramchandra Kalsangra, one of the prime and wanted accused in the case.
Six people were killed and 101 were injured on September 29, 2008, when a powerful explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque at Malegaon town in Nashik district, located about 200 kilometres from Mumbai.
Kalsangara is accused of having planted an explosive-laden bike near the mosque. The bike was allegedly owned by BJP MP Pragya Thakur.
Kalsangara has been absconding after the blast. The court has issued a warrant against him and declared him proclaimed offender as he failed to appear before the court.
Judge Lahoti said his predecessor had issued a warrant against Kalsangra but it could not be executed as the accused was absconding and concealing his presence.
According to the prosecution, Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, both residents of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, had planted the bomb on Sadhvi Pragya Thakur’s bike that Kalsangra was using for two years before the blast. The two were never arrested in the case.
On September 14, last year, the prosecution closed its evidence against the seven accused BJP MP Sadhwi Pragyasingh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni.
It examined 323 witnesses in proving its case against the accused, and 37 of them turned hostile reports the Hindustan Times.
The trial court also recorded statements of the accused under section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code, to allow them to explain the circumstances and evidence brought against them during the trial.