Malegaon blast accused to be tried under MCOCA

The high court allowed the state government’s appeal against a special court’s order last year to drop the MCOCA charges against those accused because there was no proof that they were part of an organised crime syndicate.

The high court order comes as a boost to the Anti-Terrorism Squad, which has arrested 11 suspects, including Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit, involved in the blast that rocked Malegaon on September 28, 2008, killing seven persons. The ruling was given by Justice B H Marlapalle and Justice Anoop Mohta, stating that the application of MCOCA, which is more an anti-terror law, was justified in this case. The trial of the case will now resume before a special MCOCA court in Mumbai. The accused, who are currently lodged in the Nasik Central Prison, will be brought to a jail here to stand the trial.