Mumbai: The Mumbai Sessions court has dropped MCOCA charges against all accused in the Malegaon blasts case. The court has given the state four weeks to appeal in the High Court.
The case is the first instance where a right wing Hindu group had been accused of conducting a terror attack.
The accused include, among others, former Colonel Shrikant Purohit, sadhvi Pragyna Singh and self-proclaimed Shankaracharya Dayanand Pandey.
Recently, a court in Porna had acquitted the another accused Rakesh Dabadhe for want of evidence in a related case. Dabhade was the supposed to be the key link between all accused.
Late ATS Chief Hemant Karakare was investigating this case when he was killed in the Mumbai terror attack on November 26 last year.
Incidentally, the Crime Branch of the city police had arrested four alleged Chhota Shakeel gangsters on July 10 who were planning to kill lawyers representing sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.
Maharashtra govt to approach HC:
Maharashtra government said that it would move the High Court challenging the dropping of MCOCA charges by a special court against sadhvi Pragya Singh, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and other accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case.
"The government would approach the High Court over the issue," Minister of State for Home Naseem Khan said.
The government "would seek justice for the Malegaon blast victims and would challenge the ruling of the special court in the High Court," the Minister said.
"We have been given a four-week period to appeal and we will do so," he said.
The special court observed that none of the accused are part of the organised crime syndicate and also no one had more than one chargesheet against him or her for invoking provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
(With PTI inputs)