2008 Malegaon blast: Court to hear Sadhvi Pragya's bail plea today, NIA doesn't oppose

Mumbai: A Mumbai court will hear the bail plea of 2008 Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur on Monday.

The National Investigation Agency, which decided to drop her name from the list of accused in its chargesheet, will not oppose her bail plea and will leave it to the court to decide. 

Pragya's lawyer Prashant Maggu had filed the bail plea earlier on May 30.

On May 13, the NIA decided not to name Pragya in its chargesheet in connection with the case. The agency also dropped charges against her under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The NIA in its chargesheet recommended discharging four accused - Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Shyam Sahu, Shiv Narayan Kalsangra and Praveen Takkalki - saying there was no evidence to prosecute them.

The Malegaon 2008 blast case was a first case in which Hindu extremists, including Lt. Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, were chargesheeted by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in 2009.

The September 2008 blast in the Muslim-majority Malegaon town killed six people and injured 101 others.