Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday examined a bomb squad officer, who had prepared a report stating that the bomb which had exploded in Malegaon in September 2008, had been fitted on the motorbike owned by Pragya Singh Thakur. The witness supported the prosecution case and stood by his initial statements.
Six persons had died and over 100 sustained injuries due the blast, which took place in Malegaon near Nashik district on September 29, 2008. Thakur was the first person to be arrested in the case and is currently facing trial before a special court, charged with murder and terror.
The testimony of this officer assumes significance as this will help the prosecution establish that the bomb had been set off with an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on an LML Freedom motorcycle registered in the name of Thakur, the prime accused in the case.
This can spell trouble for Thakur as the statements can directly nail her, especially as per the contention of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which had labelled her as a ‘principal conspirator’.
On Thursday, the bomb squad officer deposed before Special Judge Vinod Padalkar. The officer was shown the report he had prepared after a dog had sniffed out the location of the bomb on the vehicle.
“The witness was examined by us and he identified his report and also stood by his initial statements. He had prepared the report after a dog sniffed out the bomb residue on the Freedom LML bike,” said Avinash Rasal, the special public prosecutor in the case.
Notably, the fact that the bike was registered in Thakur’s name is the prime evidence, based on which the special court has refused to discharge her from the case, despite the clean chit given by the NIA.
This piece of evidence was adduced by the ATS, which initially probed the case. However, the NIA did not find it to be ‘incriminating’ and the agency accordingly, exonerated her.
Once again, Thakur was absent from the court on Thursday. She is expected to appear before the court either on Friday or Saturday. This comes after the special judge Padalkar ordered all the accused to remain present in the court at least once a week.
