A special court has issued a bailable warrant against a former ATS officer, now posted in Akola, for not remaining present to testify in court in the 2008 Malegaon blast trial.
The officer cited the reason of being in bandobast duty at Akola for his absence in court on Monday. The special court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act issued a bailable warrant of ₹10,000 against the former officer. It has directed him to be present on May 2.
He had recorded statements of witnesses
The officer was part of the ATS team that probed the case before the NIA took over. He had recorded statements of witnesses and was required to testify in this regard. In the past too, warrants have been issued against ATS officers who probed the case.
In the blast that took place on Sep 29, 2008 in Malegaon in Nashik district of the state, six persons were killed and over a 100 injured. Among those accused are BJP MP Pragya Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit.
