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Malegaon blasts charge sheet crystallises ATS-NIA fault lines

On Friday, ATS officials, who were earlier probing the case, said those discharged by the NIA had a definite role in the blasts, and the agency should have left it to the court to decide if the accused were guilty or not.

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File photo of Malegaon blasts accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur
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The National Investigation Agency's (NIA) decision to give a clean chit to Pragya Singh Thakur in the 2008 Malegaon blast case has once again brought to the fore the differences between the two investigating agencies – NIA and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

On Friday, ATS officials, who were earlier probing the case, said those discharged by the NIA had a definite role in the blasts, and the agency should have left it to the court to decide if the accused were guilty or not.

A former ATS officer associated with the blasts probe said, "NIA says no evidence was found against Thakur. But our case was that she was aware of the conspiracy. Even if she did not participate actively, she was definitely aware of what was being done and what had happened. Instead of informing the police about the conspiracy, she chose to keep mum. Based on this, the ATS had arrested her under section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)."

Speaking about Thakur's role, another ATS officer said, "The motorcycle recovered from the blast site was under Thakur's name. She could not disprove that. When we questioned her about the bike, she said one of her followers had purchased it, but she had not transferred the bike's documents under anyone's name."

"Even in the 2006 Malegaon blast case, in which over 31 persons were killed, we (ATS) had arrested nine persons and four were absconding. The case was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI), which also upheld the ATS probe. In April 2011, the case was handed over to NIA, which later stated that the blast was the handiwork of the Hindu radical outfit. According to the NIA, both Malegaon blasts were handiwork of the same group. Why not let the accused face a trial and let the court decide if they are guilty or not," the officer rued.

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