New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has dropped Sadhvi Pragya Thakur's name from its chargesheet in the 2008 Malegaon blast case filed in a Mumbai court today.
As per the report filed by the NIA before the special NIA court, the agency's investigation failed to find any substantial evidence of Sadhvi's involvement in the blast that had killed 4 people and injured 79 others.
"During investigation, sufficient evidences have not been found against Pragya Singh Thakur, Shiv Narayan Kalsangra, Shyam Bhavarlal Sahu, Praveen Takkalki, Lokesh Sharma and Dhan Singh Choudhury," NIA said in the Final Report submitted before the court, adding that the prosecution against them is not maintainable.
The NIA also told the court that investigation conducted by former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who was latter killed in the 26/11 terror attack, was flawed. It also mentioned that the evidence produced against another accused Colonel Prasad Purohit had been fabricated, and statements of witnesses were taken under duress.
The agency has decided to drop charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Purohit and all other accused. They will now be charged under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Malegaon blast in Nashik, in which seven people were killed when two bombs planted on a motorcycle exploded, was initially conducted by the Maharashtra ATS and later handed over to the NIA in 2011.
Eight of the accused, including Purohit and Sadhvi, are in jail under MCOCA charges.
Earlier, there were reports doing the rounds that the government have asked NIA to assess whether the charges under a stringent Maharashtra law should be dropped against Purohit and Sadhvi.
The NIA had in January asked the Law Ministry to seek an opinion from the AG on whether the charges under the MCOCA should be dropped against the eight arrested persons.
