BJP leader pragya thakur, accused in the Malegaon blast, on thursday argued that the blast could have been carried out by the banned organization SIMI. Her lawyer JP Mishra said this in court on her behalf during the hearing of the 16-year-old case in a special court in Mumbai. Pragya's lawyer said that SIMI's office was located near the blast site. It could be an accidental blast in which the explosives were being brought by the banned organization.
Six people were killed and 100 were injured in the 2008 Malegaon blast when explosives kept on a motorcycle near a mosque exploded. According to a PTI report, during the hearing of the case, the lawyer said that after the blast, the local people had prevented the police from going to the blast site and this could be an attempt to save the accused and protect the SIMI members. He said that whenever such an incident happens, the local people help the police but in this case, a crowd gathered and stones were pelted at the police and they were prevented from going to the spot.
This is why pragya thakur was accused
At the same time, the government lawyer said that pragya thakur and Lieutenant Colonel prasad Purohit had conspired for this blast. The bike used in the incident belonged to Pragya Thakur. The court had asked pragya thakur to appear but she did not appear on Thursday. Her lawyer will continue the cross-examination on friday as well.
A similar incident had also happened in 2006
Two years before the Malegaon blast, in 2006, a similar blast had taken place in which 37 people had died. The ATS had arrested nine people who were allegedly linked to SIMI. One of them has died and the remaining eight were acquitted in 2016 due to lack of evidence and it was said that they were made scapegoats. The 2006 Malegaon blast was handed over to the NIA in which four people were arrested. They were granted bail in 2019.
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