Malegaon blast case: BJP MP Pragya Thakur appears before NIA court

Agencies
June 7, 2019

Mumbai, Jun 7: BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur on Friday appeared before a special court here in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blast case, after failing twice this week to do so.

When Special NIA Judge V S Padalkar asked the saffron-clad Thakur if she has to say anything about the blast, she said, "I don't know."

The BJP MP made the appearance as per the special court's direction that all the accused should present themselves before it once a week.

The judge read out his order to the accused where he had directed them to do so.

He said the court has so far examined 116 witnesses including doctors and 'panchas'. However, during most the hearings, the accused were absent and represented by their advocates, he added.

He then called up Thakur and another accused, Sudhakar Dwivedi, to the witness box and asked them whether they were aware of the Malegaon blast in which six people were killed, to which Thakur replied, "Mujhe jankari nahi hai" (I have no information about it).

Dwivedi also gave a similar answer.

This was Thakur's first appearance before the court after becoming an MP. The last time was during the framing of charges in the case in October last year.

A red velvet cloth was put on the bench, where the accused sit, for Thakur to sit comfortably. When the judge called her to witness box to stand till the order is passed she said she will stand to lean by the window instead of sitting in the chair given by the court.

Special NIA Judge V S Padalkar last month directed all the accused, including Thakur, to appear before the court at least once a week.

The judge then said an exemption from appearance would be granted only if cogent reasons were submitted.

On Monday, the special court rejected the application of Thakur, who defeated Congress veteran Digvijay Singh from Bhopal, for exemption from appearance in the court this week.

The 49-year-old Hindutva activist had sought the exemption for completing formalities relating to her election to Parliament, but the court said her presence is necessary at this stage in the case.

On Thursday, her lawyer Prashant Magoo told the court she is suffering from high blood pressure and is unable to travel to Mumbai from Bhopal.

The court granted her exemption for the day and asked her to appear before it Friday.

"Today (Thursday), the exemption is granted. But she will have to appear on Friday else she will have to face consequences," the judge had said.

Thakur was hospitalised for a stomach ailment in Bhopal Wednesday night and discharged early Thursday, her close aide Upma had said.

The court is recording the testimony of witnesses in the case.

Seven persons, including Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, are facing trial in the case.

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

According to police, the motorbike was registered in Thakur's name and that led to her arrest in 2008.

The Bombay High Court granted her bail in 2017.

The accused are facing trial under various sections of the UAPA, the Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substances Act.

They have been charged under UAPA sections 16 (committing terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist act).

They are also facing charges under IPC sections 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 153(a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups).

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News Network
July 14,2020

Jaipur, Jul 14: In a show of strength, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot-led Rajasthan Congress camp on Monday released a video showing at least 16 MLAs sitting together.

This comes hours after the Congress held a legislature party meeting. Party leaders said 106 of 122 MLAs attended, a claim contested by the Pilot camp.

The 10-second video was shared late at night on Pilot's official WhatsApp group.

In the video, at least 16 MLAs are seen sitting together in a close circle. Pilot is not seen in the video.

Six other people can be seen in the video but they could not be identified.

Some of the MLAs seen in the video are Indraraj Gurjar, Mukesh Bhakar, Harish Meena.

Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh tweeted the video with the caption "Family".

Ladnun MLA Mukesh Bhakar tweeted, "...Loyalty in Congress means Ashok Gehlot's slavery. That is not acceptable to us."

Pilot has been upset since he was denied the Rajasthan chief minister's post after the December 2018 assembly elections.

On Sunday, he claimed to have the backing of 30 Congress MLAs and "some independents".

Those close to him disputed Gehlot's claim that his government had a majority, and said this is proven in the assembly and not at the CM's house.

Sources close to him have also ruled out the possibility of Pilot joining the BJP.

In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress has 107 MLAs and the BJP 72. In the past, the ruling party has claimed the support of 13 independents, two MLAs each from the CPM and the Bharatiya Tribal Party, and one from the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

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News Network
February 14,2020

New Delhi, Feb 14: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday said there must be a "huge mass movement" if any Muslim was sent to detention camps in case the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Speaking at the JNU campus, the former Union minister said the CAA was an outcome of the "NRC fiasco" in Assam that left 19 lakh people out of the document.

The CAA was brought to accommodate the 12 lakh Hindus among the 19 lakh people who could not be included in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, he claimed.

Replying to a question by a student on the best course of action if the CAA was upheld by the apex court, Chidambaram said, "When they touch the excluded...they will only be Muslims, to identify and throw them out, declare them stateless, there must be a huge mass movement, resisting any Muslim being thrown out or kept in detention camps."

He also said the Congress believed that the CAA must be repealed and there should be a political struggle so that the National Population Register (NPR) was pushed beyond 2024.

Claiming that the NRC, CAA and NPR were "closely connected" to each other, Chidambaram said, "The CAA was brought due to the NRC fiasco in Assam and the opposition to the CAA gave way to the NPR."

He asserted that the Congress was protesting against the CAA and the NRC across the country, but had consciously avoided going to Shaheen Bagh, as in that case, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would brand the demonstration against the amended citizenship law as a "political" one.

"See, we are not going to Shaheen Bagh because that would be falling into the BJP's trap. If we go there, they (BJP) will say it is political," the senior Congress leader said.

Slamming the CAA and the NRC as instruments undermining the very basis of the formation of India, he said the country, instead, needed a "broad law" on refugees.

Speaking at an event against the NRC, CAA and NPR hosted by the Congress's student wing, NSUI, at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Chidambaram accused the BJP of spreading lies against Opposition parties.

"The BJP says the Congress, the Left and other liberal parties are against citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs from Pakistan, Bangladesh. But we are not against those included, our opposition is against exclusion," he said.

Questioning the rationale behind the CAA, the former finance minister said it excluded people on the basis of religion.

"Why only three countries, what about other neighbouring countries — Nepal, Bhutan, China? What about others treated much worse? The Ahmadiyas and Shias of Pakistan, the Rohingyas of Myanmar, Tamil Hindus are equally persecuted, why are they left out?" he questioned.

Chidambaram also said the CAA did not cover persecution based on language, political ideology and economic deprivation.

Slamming the NRC, he wondered which country would accept those left out of the document.

"Which country is going to accept them? How will they go? Where will you send them? (Home Minister) Amit Shah saying that they are termites and he will throw them out by 2024 is talking through his hat," the senior Congress leader said.

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News Network
March 27,2020

New Delhi, Mar 27: Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has asked states to urgently strengthen the surveillance of international travellers who entered the country before the lockdown as there appeared to be a "gap" between the actual monitoring for COVID-19 and the total arrivals.

In a letter to chief secretaries of all States and Union Territories, Gauba said such a gap in monitoring of international passengers for coronavirus "may seriously jeopardise the efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19", given that many amongst the persons who have tested positive so far in India have history of international travel.

"As you are aware, we initiated screening of international incoming passengers at the airports with effect from January 18, 2020. I have been informed that up to March 23, 2020, cumulatively, Bureau Of Immigration has shared details of more than 15 lakh incoming international passengers with the States/UTs for monitoring for COVID-19.

"However, there appears to be a gap between the number of international passengers who need to be monitored by the States/UTs and the actual number of passengers being monitored," Gauba said in his letter.

The government had started monitoring of all international passengers who have arrived in India in last two months in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Gauba said,"it is important that all international passengers are put under close surveillance to prevent the spread of the epidemic."

He said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has repeatedly emphasised the importance of monitoring, and requested the states and UTs to take immediate steps in this regard.

"I would, therefore, like to request you to ensure that concerted and sustained action is taken urgently to put such passengers under surveillance immediately as per MoHFW guidelines," he said.

The cabinet secretary also urged the chief secretaries to actively involve the district authorities in this effort.The screening of international incoming passengers at airports was done from January 18 in a phased manner.

The Central and state governments have unleashed unprecedented and extraordinary measures to contain the spread of the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has already infected more than 700 people in the country and claimed at least 17 lives.

A nationwide lockdown was also announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday for 21 days.

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