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2008 Malegaon Blast Trial: ATS Officer Denies That He Planted RDX At Accused’s Residence

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Mumbai: An Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer who the National Investigation Agency had claimed had planted RDX at the residence of Sudhakar Chaturvedi, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast trial, on Thursday denied the allegations before a special court. The ATS officer, Shekhar Bagade, who appeared before the court as a witness, said the allegations had been made to defame him.

The ATS has probed the blast case before it was taken over by the NIA, which had given a clean chit to Pragya Thakur and five others in its supplementary chargesheet of 2016, stating that there was not enough evidence to prosecute them. However, it said that Prasad Shrikant Purohit, then a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army, and others were behind the conspiracy.

Pragya Thakur Continues To Face Trial

However, Thakur continues to be on trial as the special court had refused to accept her plea for discharge. The central agency had alleged, on the basis of statements made by a subedar and his superior before a Court of Inquiry, that Bagade had broken into Chaturvedi’s residence and left traces of RDX in 2008, which were later found in a raid by the ATS.

ATS Officer Denies Charges

On Thursday, Bagade refuted before the special court that he was found by two army officials at Chaturvedi’s home planting RDX as evidence in the 2008 blast case. Bagade termed these as allegations and said he has been defamed. Bagade said the NIA has no evidence apart from these statements to make these allegations and claimed that it is a conspiracy against him. He said he had learnt about the allegations for the first time in 2015 and called them an “afterthought”.

Bagade said he is an honest officer and pointed out that his father was in the army. He also denied that he had first asked the subedar to help him with the keys to Chaturvedi’s home and later told him he did not need it. He denied that the subedar and his superior had seen him with a gunny bag rubbing something to the floor of Chaturvedi’s residence.

Crime

NEET paper leak case: Key accused’s MBBS daughter goes ‘missing’ as CBI closes in

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Jaipur, May 15: The NEET paper leak scandal in Rajasthan is beginning to resemble a full-blown crime thriller, with every new revelation exposing another layer of an alleged education mafia that may have penetrated deep into the country’s medical admission system.

Now, the investigation has reached the corridors of Pandit Nawal Kishore Sharma Government Medical College in Dausa and at the centre of the latest twist is a young MBBS student who has suddenly vanished from campus. Pragati Biwal, a first-year MBBS student and daughter of arrested NEET paper leak accused Mangilal Biwal, has reportedly gone “missing” from the college soon after the CBI intensified its crackdown on the family.

According to sources, Pragati quietly submitted a leave application and left the campus immediately after the arrests of her father and uncle, Dinesh Biwal, both considered key figures in the growing paper leak scandal. For the past two days, Pragati has not attended classes, and her sudden disappearance has sparked intense speculation within academic circles and among investigators.

While family members insist she secured admission through merit and hard work, the timing of her exit has raised uncomfortable questions. What has particularly caught the attention of investigators is the extraordinary number of medical admissions within the same family.

The CBI is now reportedly scrutinising the academic records and admission history of multiple members of the Biwal family to determine whether the alleged NEET paper leak network was used to secure seats in prestigious medical colleges.

The list is striking: Pragati Biwal is studying MBBS in Dausa. Her brother Vikas is enrolled at Sawai Madhopur Medical College. Her cousin Saniya studies at SMS Medical College, Jaipur. Another cousin, Palak, is pursuing medical education in Mumbai. Gunjan, another family member, is studying medicine in Banaras.

Investigators are now trying to determine whether this concentration of medical admissions in one family is merely exceptional academic success or evidence of something far more sinister.

Meanwhile, the CBI has intensified searches at the family’s properties in Jamwaramgarh, Jaipur.

On Thursday, teams conducted raids at the residence of the accused brothers, Mangilal and Dinesh Biwal, in Khatik Mohalla. Sources say no male family members were present during the operation, prompting investigators to question the women of the household, including the accused’s mother and wives, for several hours.

The agency also searched a nearby farmhouse, examined luxury vehicles parked at the premises, and seized several important documents believed to be linked to the racket.

The investigation has now spread beyond Rajasthan, with arrests already made in Maharashtra.

So far, seven people have been arrested in connection with the NEET paper leak case, while five accused, including Dinesh Biwal, Mangilal Biwal, and Vikas, have been sent to seven-day CBI custody.

The CBI is also searching for Dinesh Biwal’s son, Rishi, a NEET aspirant this year, who is reportedly absconding.

As the probe widens, investigators suspect the scandal may be much larger than initially believed, potentially involving a well-organised network manipulating one of India’s most competitive entrance examinations.

With an MBBS student mysteriously ‘disappearing’ from her college campus just as the investigation closes in on her family, the NEET paper leak case has taken yet another dramatic turn, one that could expose what may become Rajasthan’s biggest education scam in recent memory.

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National News

Bengal post-poll violence: Mamata Banerjee argues for HC’s intervention; govt says no case cited (Ld)

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Kolkata, May 14: Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday made a forceful argument at a division bench of the Calcutta High Court seeking the court’s intervention in preventing post-poll violence, especially against women and the people from the minority community, since the results of the recently-concluded West Bengal Assembly polls were declared on May 4.

“The post-poll violence in the state has reached an alarming stage. No one, especially the people from the minority community and even the women and children, is spared. Married women are being threatened with rape. All such events are surfacing from different pockets in the state. Houses are being looted and burnt. The police are not taking any action. If the court allows, I will mention these allegations in an additional affidavit. Save the people of the state. This is not a ‘bulldozer’ state. This is West Bengal. Please save the people of the state,” the former Chief Minister argued before the division bench of the Calcutta High Court’s Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed on the issue of post-poll violence.

While presenting her argument, she also reminded that this was the first time she had been arguing as a counsel at the Calcutta High Court. “My name was enrolled as a counsel in 1995. I have regularly renewed that membership,” the former Chief Minister said.

In his counterargument, the state government counsel, Dhiraj Trivedi, described Mamata Banerjee’s allegations as baseless. “No specific instances of post-poll violence have been cited in the petition. The petitioner is claiming that over 2,000 complaints of post-poll violence have surfaced. But no instance has been cited. The details of the complainants have also not been mentioned. The case relating to the post-poll violence in 2021 was heard by a five-judge bench. Hence, it will not be desirable for the court to pass an interim order unless specific instances of post-poll violence are presented before the court,” Trivedi argued.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress has issued a social media statement glorifying Mamata Banerjee’s appearance at the Calcutta High Court, arguing the matter as counsel.

“Our Hon’ble Chairperson Smt @MamataOfficial personally reached the Calcutta High Court today to argue in a matter concerning the widespread post-poll violence unleashed across Bengal by @BJP4Bengal. Once again, she has shown what truly sets her apart. She NEVER abandons the people of Bengal in their hour of need. She NEVER stops fighting for truth, justice, and constitutional values. And time and again, she rises above the politics of hatred with unmatched COMPASSION, COURAGE and CONVICTION. Whether confronting the injustice of SIR or standing firm against the unruly conduct of @BJP4 India, she continues to prove that there is truly NO LEADER LIKE HER in the country today,” the social media statement read.

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Crime

Red Fort blast case: Delhi court to hear NIA chargesheet on June 4

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New Delhi, May 14: A Delhi court is scheduled to hear on June 4 the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) voluminous chargesheet filed in connection with the deadly Red Fort blast case that claimed 11 lives and left several others injured.

The chargesheet, running into around 7,500 pages, was filed earlier on Thursday by the anti-terror agency before the Patiala House Court against 10 accused under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act, and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

The high-intensity Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) explosion had taken place near the Red Fort area on November 10, 2025, triggering a nationwide security alert and causing extensive damage to surrounding property.

According to the NIA, all the accused named in the prosecution complaint were allegedly associated with Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), an outfit considered an offshoot of Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

Among those named in the chargesheet is the alleged mastermind, Dr Umer Un Nabi, a Pulwama-based former Assistant Professor of Medicine at Al-Falah University in Haryana’s Faridabad, who was killed in the blast. The agency has proposed the abatement of charges against him.

The other accused arrayed in the chargesheet include Aamir Rashid Mir, Jasir Bilal Wani, Dr Muzamil Shakeel, Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather, Dr Shaheen Saeed, Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay, Soyab, Dr Bilal Naseer Malla and Yasir Ahmad Dar.

The anti-terror agency said its investigation was spread across Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and the Delhi-NCR region, and included examination of 588 witnesses, over 395 documentary records and more than 200 seized exhibits and material objects.

Earlier in March, the Patiala House Court had granted the NIA an additional 45 days to complete its probe in the case after the probe agency submitted that crucial new leads had emerged and a large volume of digital evidence was under examination.

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