JOIN USA special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here Tuesday granted bail to Lokesh Sharma in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast in Maharashtra that killed six people, a lawyer said.
"The NIA failed to file a charge sheet within the stipulated 90-day period. Hence, Special Judge Y.D. Shinde directed the accused to execute a bond of Rs.25,000, while granting him bail," Sharma's lawyer Aarti Bhide told IANS.
Sharma was first named by the NIA in the 2007 Samjhauta Express train bombing that killed 68 people, mainly Pakistanis. The probe agency said that he planted the bomb.
Six people were killed and 101 injured in the Sep 29, 2008 Malegaon bomb blast. Twelve members of the rightwing outfits, Jai Vande Mataram and Abhinav Bharat, were arrested.
Sharma is the first accused to get bail in the case.