Mumbai, August 2
The NIA today told the Bombay High Court that it would file an application before a lower court seeking police protection for 38 “sensitive” prosecution witnesses in the September 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.
Bhopal BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and five others are accused in the case. They are facing trial under the UAPA and the IPC on terror and conspiracy charges.
The NIA made its submission before a Division Bench of justices IA Mahanty and AM Badar hearing a petition filed by Purohit seeking non-truncated copies of the witness statements that are part of the chargesheet.
NIA counsel Sandesh Patil said of the 475 witnesses, the statements of 186 were truncated. “Out of these 186, 38 witnesses are sensitive witnesses. They need to be given protection and their evidence will have to be recorded in-camera,” Patil said. “We are ready to give the accused (Purohit) non-truncated statements of the remaining witnesses,” he said.
He said the agency would file an application in the special NIA court, conducting trial in the case, for protection cover for the 38 witnesses. The Bench then adjourned hearing on Purohit’s plea for two weeks. — PTI
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via Today’s News Headlines
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