Malegaon blasts case: Trial begins at special NIA court

The National Investigative Agency (NIA) submitted nearly 216 documents before the Special NIA Court in Mumbai as the trial in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case commenced on Friday.

Six people were killed and a dozen others were injured when a bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded in Maharashtra's Malegaon on September 29, 2008.

Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit, Pragya Singh Thakur are among the seven accused facing trial in the case.

The terror investigation agency also submitted a list of 286 witnesses. The court fixed November 12 as the next date of hearing in the case.

On October 30, the court had framed charges against Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sudhakar Chaturvedi, accusing them of terror conspiracy, murder and other related offences.

The NIA court on October 20 rejected Purohit's plea to not be prosecuted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. All the seven accused have pleaded not guilty.

"This was a conspiracy by the Congress but I am confident that I will come out innocent as the truth always wins," Pragya Singh Thakur told ANI after the charges were framed.

Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit, an Army officer, was arrested in 2008 for allegedly masterminding the blasts that left six people dead and dozens injured.

He moved the Supreme Court, alleging Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad of abducting and torturing him. But his petition was rejected in September.

In November 2008, the Anti-Terrorism Squad had arrested 11 people in connection with the blasts. Three years later, in 2011, the investigation was transferred to the NIA.