Nashik, August 29: The Malegaon blast accused, who were under police custody, were today sent to judicial remand till September 11 by a sessions court here after they were produced before it for the first time since a special court dropped provisions of stringent MCOCA against them.
While nine of the accused were produced before the court, two others Pragya Singh Thakur and Sham Sahu could not appear as the former has been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai and the other has gone to Indore to attend relative’s funeral.
A special MCOCA court in Mumbai had on July 31 dropped provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act invoked against the accused saying none of them were part of an organised crime syndicate. It ruled that the case would be heard by the sessions court in Nashik.
Accused Sameer Kulkarni pleaded that he be provided medical treatment. He alleged that he had been ill-treated by the Anti-Terror Squad since his arrest ten months back.
An agitated Kulkarni claimed that he had pain in his eyes, teeth and waist and needed treatment. The judge told him not to speak loudly. Another accused Sudhakar Dwivedi sought permission to perform Chaturmas Pooja in Nasik on Sep 4 while accused Major Prasad Purohit urged that he may be kept at the high-security Arthur Road jail in Mumbai.
The court will hear the pleas on September 1.
Sessions Judge Govind Sanap asked prosecutor Ajay Misar whether the case papers have been transferred from Mumbai court to the Nasik court to which he said “not yet”.
ATS had arrested 11 persons, including Thakur and Purohit for allegedl
—Agencies