Malegaon blast co accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur (File Photo | PTI) 
Nation

Malegaon victim's father asks court to ban Sadhvi Pragya from contesting LS poll from Bhopal

The application was filed by Nisar Sayeed, who lost his son in the blast, a day after the BJP fielded Thakur from the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat against Congress veteran Digvijay Singh.

From our online archive

MUMBAI: The father of one of the victims of the 2008 Malegaon blast moved the special NIA court here Thursday, urging it to bar prime accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from contesting the Lok Sabha election.

The application was filed by Nisar Sayeed, who lost his son in the blast, a day after the BJP fielded Thakur from the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat against Congress veteran Digvijay Singh.

Special National Investigation Agency cases judge V S Padalkar sought replies from both the NIA and Thakur and posted the matter for Monday.

The applicant sought that Thakur, who is out on bail, be asked to attend court proceedings in Mumbai and be barred from contesting the election as the trial is in progress.

It further mentioned that Thakur got bail on health grounds.

If she was "healthy enough to fight elections in the crippling summers heat", then she has misled the court, the complainant alleged.

A petition seeking cancellation of her bail was pending before the Supreme Court, it said.

Six people were killed and over hundred injured in a bomb blast at Malegaon, a communally-sensitive textile town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Thakur and others in the case, alleging that they were part of a Hindu extremist group which carried out the blast.

The NIA later gave Thakur a clean chit, but the court did not discharge Thakur.

It dropped charges against her under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, but she is still facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Indian Penal Code sections.

The Pied Piper of the digital age: Why India must shield young minds from algorithmic enchantment

Hindu man stabbed, set on fire in Bangladesh, escapes by jumping into pond; fourth attack in two weeks

Did candle held close to wooden ceiling spark blaze? Swiss ski resort town reels as 40 feared dead, 115 injured

Parliament in 2026: Will disruption once again overshadow deliberation?

RBI says economy resilient, banks stronger but warns of rising risks from unsecured loans, stablecoins

SCROLL FOR NEXT