Nine accused in Malegaon blast case get bail

Nine accused in the 2006 Malegaon bomb blast case on Saturday got bail as National Investigation Agency (NIA) chose not to oppose their plea for liberty.

Designated Judge Y D Shinde of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) granted them bail on a surety of Rs 50,000 each.

The court also asked the accused to report to local police station once in a week.

The nine accused who got bail are Salman Farsi, Shabir Ahmed, Noorulhuda Doha, Rais Ahmed, Mohammed Ali, Asif Khan, Javed Sheikh, Faroogue Ansari and Abrar Ahmed.

Of them, Asif Khan and Mohammed Ali will not be released as they are also held in 2006 Mumbai train serial blast case.

The rest would get out of jail after completing formalities on November 8, said defence lawyer Jaleel Ansari.

NIA contended that after the confession of Swami Aseemanand, arrested for the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case, about the alleged involvement of a right wing group in the Malegaon blast, it reviewed the evidence collected by previous investigating agencies ATS, Maharashtra, and CBI besides gathering some fresh evidence.

"After due deliberations, a decision was taken on the basis of facts and circumstances not to oppose the bail plea of all the nine accused," NIA said.

However, NIA said it would not admit any contention of the accused in the bail petitions so far as they relate to the charge sheet filed by previous investigating agencies, so also "the facts and circumstances which came to light during the investigation by NIA if they are also traversed by the accused," it said.

The defence lawyer argued that from the confession of Swami Aseemanand, it was clear that those responsible for the 2006 Malegaon blasts are far removed from the current accused.

The nine accused pleaded that they have been in jail for the past four years and "there is no direct evidence of their involvement in the said offence and it was only based on the forcibly-taken confession statement".

The 2006 blasts in Malegaon, which killed 37 people and injured over 100, had occurred near Hamidia mosque in the Bada Kabristan area on September 8, 2006, after Shab-e-Barat prayers.