Malegaon blast: Trial court says NIA can file charge sheet against absconders after arrest

Mumbai, Aug 1 (PTI) A special NIA court, which has acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon case, has said the federal probe agency was at liberty to file a separate charge-sheet against the absconding accused Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange on their arrest.

In its over 1000-page judgment, special judge A K Lahoti highlighted the probe by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad and the NIA which alleged that the absconding accused had assembled the bomb.

The investigating officer of the NIA also found involvement of Ramji alias Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange in the present crime but their whereabouts were not known and they continue as absconding accused in the supplementary charge-sheet filed by NIA.

While the ATS claimed that Kalsangra was the one who planted the explosive-laden motorbike at the spot in Malegaon, NIA had said Kalsangra and Dange were in possession of the bike for more than a year prior to the blast.

The court noted that as per ATS, the RDX was fitted in the bike in the house of accused Sudhakar Chaturvedi by Lt Col Prasad Purohit, but as per the NIA, it was fitted at Indore by Kalsangra and then brought to Malegaon.

The court said there was material variance and both the investigating agencies are not consistent with each other on material aspects like fitting, transporting and involvement of accused.

It may be mentioned that the names of the two absconding accused have also surfaced during the Karnataka Police's investigation into the murder of 55-year-old journalist Gauri Lankesh outside her home in Bengaluru in September 2017.

Both Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, who figure in four different cases registered by the NIA, are in the list of most wanted with the federal probe agency. A cash reward has also been announced for Dange.

The court in its judgment noted that the prosecution had not been able to prove that Kalsangra and Dange were the persons working for Pragya Singh Thakur, or that she had handed over her bike to them for the commission of the crime.

It further held that the prosecution has also not been able to prove their claims that the two wanted accused had held secret meetings with Purohit and the other co-accused in the case and demanded RDX for the explosion.

"Thus, ATS and NIA themselves claim that the vehicle was in possession of absconding accused Ramji Kalsangra since beginning," the court said, adding Thakur had renounced the material world some years prior to the alleged bomb-blast, which clearly shows that she was not in possession of the motorcycle.

The court also cited instances to show that the motorcycle was being used only by Ramji Kalsangra which include service station and other repair shop records.

The court while concluding its order said "the prosecuting agencies are at liberty to file a separate charge-sheet against the absconding accused Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange on their arrest." The court also directed that "all the Muddemal (property in the guardianship of court) including gadgets shall be preserved in safe and sure custody" and it should be ensured that all the material would be made available whenever called by the Appellate court or needed for trial against absconding accused. PTI SP SKL KRK