The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday filed a reply opposing the bail pleas of Malegaon 2008 blast accused Lieutenant-Colonel > Prasad Shrikant Purohit and Sudhakar Dwivedi alias Dayanand Pandey.
Seeking rejection of their applications, the > NIA said there was “sufficient evidence” against them in the charge sheet and their contention that the Supreme Court had removed the provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) was incorrect.
>Purohit’s claim that he had not committed any offence was “false, incorrect and misleading”. Also his period of detention of six and a half years “is not ground for bail,” the central agency said.
“If bail is granted, the right of police custody of NIA will be extinguished. The issue is pending before the Supreme Court, hence the bail petition is liable to be rejected,” the reply states. Purohit had applied for bail on June 3. In his petition, he denied having any link with the blast.
As for Dwivedi, the NIA said there was enough evidence against him under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act “to prove that he committed a terrorist act.”
