19 years on, charges framed against 4 in Malegaon case

MUMBAI: Nineteen years after serial blasts left 31 dead in Malegaon, a special court Tuesday framed charges against four accused, paving the way for the trial to commence.

The accused — Lokesh Sharma, Dhan Singh, Rajendra Chaudhary and Manohar Narwaria — pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal conspiracy, murder and terror related charges under the UAPA. The matter will come up for hearing Oct 29.

In 2016, nine Muslim men arrested in the case were proved to be innocent and discharged. They were arrested by the first investigating authority, the ATS , in 2006. Subsequently, NIA took over investigations.

The four accused were arrested after the NIA alleged that the bombings were the doing of their group.

In 2007, a case was registered in the Mecca Masjid bomb blast. In that case, an accused, Swami Aseemanand, allegedly confessed that Sunil Joshi, an RSS functionary, had told him that the bomb blasts at Malegaon were the handiwork of his boys. He allegedly confessed that in June 2006 at the residence of Bharat Rateshwar at Valsad, a meeting was held where he had suggested that Malegaon has an 86% Muslim population and it should be chosen for first blast.

NIA was given charge of the case in 2011, following which the four accused were arrested between Dec 2012 and Jan 2013. The NIA chargesheet was filed against the four along with Joshi, Ramchandra Kalsangra, Ramesh and Sandeep Dange. Joshi was allegedly murdered on Dec 29, 2007.

The investigating agency alleged that the accused used to congregate at a house where the bombs were prepared between June and July 2006. The conspiracy, the NIA said, was made to cause bomb blasts at Malegaon in Muslim areas to cause death and injuries to people, to damage public property and cause communal riots. It further alleged that the group conducted a reconnaissance of the area three times before finally placing bombs on Sept 8, 2006.