Threat calls to Gadkari: NIA moves HC for transfer of case proceedings to Mumbai court

The National Investigation Agency has moved the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court seeking transfer of proceedings in the case involving threat calls to Union minister Nitin Gadkari to the special NIA court in Mumbai.

Earlier, District and Additional Session (NIA) Judge J P Zapate had ruled on July 18 that while the federal agency would take over the probe into the case, proceedings would continue to be held at the Nagpur NIA court.

An HC bench of justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes on Friday issued notices to respondents.

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The NIA registered two First Information Reports (FIRs) in Mumbai on the basis of FIRs registered by Dhantoli police in Nagpur under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Subsequently, it moved an application before the special court here, seeking the transfer of the UAPA cases to the special NIA court in Mumbai.

Sources earlier said that the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a notification directing the NIA to take over the probe into the case.

However, the notification did not specify that the trial must be conducted in the Mumbai court, leaving it open for the Nagpur court to retain its jurisdiction over the proceedings.

Gadkari's office here received three threat calls between January and March 2023.

The Nagpur police arrested Bengaluru terror attack case convict Afsar Pasha and Jayesh Pujari, alias Kantha, in the case. Kantha is suspected to have made the threat calls in connivance with Pasha.

In one of the calls, the police said, Pujari claimed to be a member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang and demanded Rs 100 crore. At that time, he was lodged in the Belgavai jail in Karnataka.