The trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case is in its last stage, with the court having finished recording evidence from both the sides. Special judge AK Lahoti will now begin hearing the final arguments; first by the prosecution and then by the defence lawyers.
The prosecution has examined 323 witnesses and presented 9,997 documents, 404 articles during the trial. Out of the 323 witnesses, 34 didn’t support the case of prosecution and were declared hostile. The three accused, including Prasad Purohit, examined eight witnesses to prove their innocence and circumstances.
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A powerful blast shook Malegaon in September 2008, killing six and injuring 101 others. The probe was initiated by the Anti-Terrorism Squad and was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency. The agencies charged Prasad Purohit, BJP leader Pragya Thakur, Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for conspiracy, murder and other relevant charges.