Bailable warrant against BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur from NIA court in Malegaon blast case

• NIA court issues bailable warrant against BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur in Malegaon blast case
• Thakur and six others facing trial under UAPA and IPC provisions
• Malegaon blast case transferred to NIA in 2011, ongoing proceedings in a special court

The special NIA court on Monday issued a bailable warrant against BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case. The court has issued this warrant against Pragya Singh Thakur for not appearing in the court despite repeated warnings.

BJP MP Pragya Thakur and six other accused are facing trial under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the Malegaon bomb blast case. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court is currently recording the statements of the accused under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The court had directed the accused to appear before the court. Last month, the judge had warned Thakur that 'necessary action' would be taken against her if she failed to attend the court proceedings. Despite this, when Pragya Thakur did not appear in the court even on Monday, Special Judge AK Lahoti issued a warrant of Rs 10,000 against her and asked the investigating agency to file the report by March 20.

In fact, on September 29, 2008, six people were killed and more than 100 injured when a motorcycle exploded near a mosque in Malegaon, about 200 km from Mumbai in northern Maharashtra. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad initially conducted the investigation. After this, in 2011 this case was transferred to NIA. NIA is investigating this case and the case is being heard in a special court.