NIA to seek police protection for 38 prosecution witnesses in 2008 malegaon blast case


PTI, Aug 2, 2019, 4:47 PM IST

Mumbai: The NIA on Friday told the Bombay High Court that it will be filing an application before a lower court seeking police protection for 38 “sensitive” prosecution witnesses in the September 2008 Malegaon bomb blast.

Bhopal BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and five others are accused in the case. They are facing trial under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code on terror and conspiracy charges.

The National Investigation Agency made its submission before a division bench of justices I A Mahanty and A M Badar hearing a petition filed by Purohit seeking non-truncated copies of the witness statements that are part of the charge sheet. NIA counsel Sandesh Patil told the bench that out of the 475 witnesses, the statement of 186 are truncated.

“Out of these 186, 38 witnesses are sensitive witnesses. They need to be given protection and their evidence will have to be recorded in-camera,” Patil said. “We are ready to give the accused (Purohit) non- truncated statements of the remaining witnesses,” he said.

He added that the agency will be filing an application before the special NIA court, conducting trial in the case, for protection cover for these 38 witnesses. The bench then adjourned hearing on Purohit’s plea for two weeks.

Six people were killed and 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in the North Maharashtra town of Malegaon, about 200 km from here, on September 29, 2008.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Original East India Company wound up but new breed of monopolists is in its place: Rahul

Pune gangrape case: 2 arrested men gave false info about 3rd absconding accused, say police

A third of Ranthambore’s 75 tigers missing, say officials

‘This will be most important day in American history’: Trump

EC updates Maharashtra voter list; Shahada seat has 3 candidates in fray, Nanded North 33

Millions cast vote in historic US presidential election

Wine Merchants’ Association alleges corruption in excise dept, Minister Thimmapur refutes charge

Related Articles More

Original East India Company wound up but new breed of monopolists is in its place: Rahul

Pune gangrape case: 2 arrested men gave false info about 3rd absconding accused, say police

A third of Ranthambore’s 75 tigers missing, say officials

Bypoll: Tension prevails in Kerala’s Palakkad as police search hotel over black money suspicion

EC updates Maharashtra voter list; Shahada seat has 3 candidates in fray, Nanded North 33

MUST WATCH

Gho Pooja in Deepavali Festival

Melukote Deepavali

Ganapathi Co-operative Society Ltd

Udayavani Chinnara Banna 2024

Annapoorna Aahar | Food Places In Mysore


Latest Additions

Gadag: Man throws three children into river, jumps in himself following family dispute

Over 20 Congress MLAs submit complaint to high command against Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan

Results of US elections might not be known for several days: Harris campaign

Original East India Company wound up but new breed of monopolists is in its place: Rahul

Indian restaurants in Singapore welcome govt move to allow them to hire cooks from India

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.