Malegaon blast accused returns security cover in less than 12 hours

Sameer Kulkarni, one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has informed Pune Police that he cannot afford the cost of security provided to him and if it is given to him free of cost, only then he can continue with it.

On Wednesday morning, Kulkarni was provided with one-armed police guard on his application seeking security cover.

"I cannot afford the cost of security provided to me if it's not free as I don't have any earning source," Kulkarni said in his letter to Pune Police, adding that nobody informed him about the cost of security.

"Now I have been informed by my local police station that I need to pay for the security which I cannot due to my financial condition. So I am paying for one day charge of Rs 1,772 for today's security and I will not be taking any security if it is not free," Kulkarni said.

Kulkarni had applied for security in May 2019 and was provided with the one-armed security guard of Pune Police, but has now refused to continue the same in less than 12 hours since he got the protection.

Kulkarni is the third accused in the case to be provided protection.

Other accused BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit have also been provided security by the Madhya Pradesh government and military, respectively.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

Retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Ajay Rahirkar and Sudhakar Chaturvedi are also accused in the matter.