Malegaon blast case: Bailable warrant issued against ATS officer for failing to appear before court

Representative Image. Pic/iStock

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here on Monday issued a bailable warrant against a Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer as he failed to appear before it in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

The officer, a witness in the case, had been summoned to record his testimony before the special NIA judge A K Lahoti.

However, he didn't turn before the court on the ground that there is a law and order situation in the area where he stays, a lawyer said.

A bailable warrant was issued against him as this was the second instance wherein the ATS officer has missed the court's date, he added.

More than 300 witnesses have been examined in the case so far and 34 of them have turned hostile.

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Six people were killed and more than 100 injured on September 29, 2008, after an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque at Malegaon town in Nashik district, located about 200 km from Mumbai.

The accused in the case include BJP Lok Sabha member Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Shudakar Dwivedi, Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni. All of them are out on bail.