Special NIA court allows Malegaon blast accused to file nomination papers for UP polls

An accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case has been allowed by a special NIA court to file his nomination papers for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.“Accused Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay had last week moved the court seeking permission to fill his nomination form which the court has allowed today,” special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal told PTI.

Upadhyay has said he wants to contest the polls but has not specified the constituency.He had made a similar application during the 2009 general elections. Rasal said Upadhyay has also sought interim bail for a month stating February 4 and the court is likely to hear the case on January 23.

A bomb strapped to a motorcycle had exploded in Malegaon on September 29, 2008, killing seven people and injuring around 100. According to the investigating agencies, the blast was carried out by right-wing extremists and 11 people are at present in jail in the case, including Lt Col Prasad Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.