Bar Sadhvi from polls, trial still on: Malegaon victim’s father to court

A day after the BJP announced the candidature of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur for the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, the father of one of the six persons killed in the 2008 Malegaon blast moved the special NIA court in Mumbai Thursday, urging it to bar Thakur, a key accused in the case, from contesting the election since the trial is still in progress. Special Judge V S Padalkar directed Thakur, who is out on bail, to file a reply to the application of Nisar Ahmed Sayyed Bilal whose son Sayyed Azhar died in the blast. The 59-year-old who had intervened in the case, opposing Thakur’s bail as well as her discharge plea, said since the NIA had nothing to say against Thakur, it was his duty to “inform the court about this development which hurt the bomb blast victims massively”. “That the intervener respectfully prays that accused number 1 (Thakur) may be asked to attend court proceedings here in Mumbai and barred to contest the election as trial is still in progress and petition of cancellation of bail is sub-judice before the Honourable Supreme Court,” Bilal’s plea stated. Source: Indian Express