Maharashtra
Maha ATS lawyers to track Malegaon-2008 blast case hearing
Alarmed by witnesses turning hostile in the Malegaon-2008 blasts case, the Maharashtra government lawyers shall now remain in the Special NIA Court where the trial is being conducted on a daily basis, Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said here on Saturday.
He told the media persons that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had taken over the case (from the state ATS), but the state government is perturbed at the manner in which several critical witnesses have become hostile in the Special Court.
The significant development came two days after the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ally Congress had raised the issue and drawn the attention of the Home Ministry and the ATS.
Congress state Working President M. Arif Naseem Khan had submitted a memorandum to the Additional Director-General of Police and ATS chief Vineet Agrawal urging necessary measures to monitor the case closely.
“We are thankful to Home Minister Walse-Patil for accepting our demand for a team to keep a track on the court proceedings. The presence of the ATS lawyers will help in a free and fair trial,” Khan said in a statement.
An ex-minister, Khan reiterated that the NIA is allegedly ‘weakening’ the Malegaon-2008 case and not pursuing it with ‘honesty and sincerity’.
In his memorandum to the ATS Chief Agrawal, Khan contended that the witnesses turning hostile are invoking the names of Bharatiya Janata Party-RSS leaders to “malign the Maharashtra government and ATS” for gaining political mileage in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections.
The September 29, 2008 (Malegaon 2008) bomb blast was allegedly engineered in this minority-dominated Nashik town by Hindu fundamentalists, killing 6 and injuring over 100 others, during the Ramadan month when Muslims were breaking their fast.
The Maharashtra Police and then the ATS probed the case till 2011 when it was taken over by the NIA, and the trial is going on daily before the Special NIA Court in Mumbai.
Of the 223 witnesses examined, 16 have turned hostile, claiming that the ATS tortured them to give evidence against the accused, said Khan, urging the need for the presence of the ATS in the court to protect the image of the Maharashtra government.
Among the accused in the sensational Malegaon 2008 case are BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Amritananda Dev Teerth, Dayanand Pandey, Lt. Col. Prasad S. Purohit, and others.
Khan said that the ATS was being sought to be tarnished as an ‘anti-Hindu’ agency with the witnesses, allegedly influenced by the accused, deliberately naming BJP-RSS people ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls for political gains.
“The NIA is not prosecuting all the accused with honesty and sincerity. Out of 223 witnesses who deposed so far, 16 important ones have turned hostile and over a 100 more are still left to be examined. These witnesses are crucial and need to be protected. The NIA has not challenged any orders passed in favour of the accused which shows their intentions clearly,” Khan said.
Some of the witnesses in Malegaon 2008 case even went beyond their recorded statement mentioning names like Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, but the NIA’s Special Public Prosecutor took no objection, and another witness claimed he was tortured and threatened by the ATS to take names of Yogi and 4 RSS leaders.
Maharashtra
Lack of general civic amenities in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, rehabilitation should be done after civic amenities are provided to the victims of Dharavi Rehabilitation Project: Abu Asim

Abu Asim Azmi opposed the development of more waste management for waste disposal in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, Mumbai, in the winter session of Nagpur and said that Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar is a slum area. There is already a dumping ground here. There is also a waste management company, which is causing a lot of problems to the citizens. Pollution has increased due to waste disposal. The air here is toxic. On the one hand, a dumping ground is being shifted from Malind and a golf course is being built, and on the other hand, the residents of the slums of Dharavi are being rehabilitated here. There is a lack of civic amenities in Govindi. Until schools, colleges, grounds and religious places, mosques, temples and other places of worship are built, no one should be rehabilitated here. Along with this, the dumping ground and other waste management companies should be removed from here. There is already a waste management company here. Now more such companies are destroying human life. It should be banned immediately, this demand was made by Azmi.
Crime
Mumbai Professor Seeks Anticipatory Bail After Molestation Case, Claims Mental Illness And Attempt To Tarnish Image

Mumbai: A guest professor, booked for molesting female students at the annual function of St. Xavier’s College in south Mumbai, has approached the sessions court for an anticipatory bail, claiming he is suffering from a mental ailment and the case had been lodged to ruin his image. The court has reserved the plea for order next week.
As per the FIR lodged with the Azad Maidan police station, the professor was invited at an event of National Hindi Parishad, held on November 24, wherein he allegedly sexually harassed nine students and one retired teacher. It is claimed that he exhibited obscenity during the festival.
While seeking protection from the arrest, the professor has claimed he is suffering from depression and other health issues, and has on several occasion attempted to commit suicide. He claimed he is currently admitted in the hospital due to his mental ailment. The professor claimed he is ready to appear before the officer through video conferencing after he is discharged from the hospital.
The plea was opposed by the prosecution on the ground that from the statements taken from the victim women, the accused appears to be of “a perverted nature”, and the possibility of him behaving indecently with other women cannot be ruled out. The police have also raised an apprehension of communal tension as the accused and the victims are of different religions.
Maharashtra
Mumbai: Accused wanted in Kurla Methi River irregularities arrested, accused of cheating crores of rupees and creating fake AMU

Mumbai: Economic Wing AOW has claimed to have arrested the wanted accused and contractor in the case of Mithi Nadi cleanliness and irregularities. The AOW has arrested the absconding wanted Sunil Shyam Narayan SM Infrastructure, Mahesh Madhav Rao Purohit. During the investigation of the Mithi Nadi contract and irregularities worth crores of rupees, the police had registered a case. Earlier, three accused were arrested. According to the EOW, from 2013 to 2023, fake MAUs were prepared and bills worth crores of rupees were approved in collusion with BMC officers. A proposal to purchase a machine to remove garbage from 2021 to 2024 was also approved and under the guise of the same, a fraud of crores of rupees was committed for cleaning the garbage. In this case, the police have arrested the accused agents Ketan Kadam, Jay Joshi and Mithi Nadi contractor Sher Singh Rathore. By preparing fake documents, the accused also prepared fake AMUs and also signed fake signatures. The accused were produced in court and remanded in custody until December 16.
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