Court accepts plea by Sadhvi Pragya’s aide
By IANSMonday, January 17, 2011
NEW DELHI - Accepting a plea of Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh’s associate Ananth Brahmachari about being “harassed” by investigators, the Delhi High Court Monday issued a notice to the centre, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Delhi Police Commissioner B.K. Gupta.
The court has asked the three parties to appear before it April 6 with their replies.
Ananth Brahmachari, a close associate of Sadhvi Pragya Singh, attempted suicide earlier this month. He was found unconscious at a flat in Jangpura Jan 5 by his family. He was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where he was treated for poisoning.
He approached the Delhi High Court last week through his lawyer Jitesh Vikram Srivastava and blamed the NIA for harassing him and violating his fundamental rights.
Hearing the case, Justice S.N. Dhingra also directed the NIA to give a travel allowance to Brahmachari for all his case related travelling expenses.
“The NIA is not following the rules and regulations framed by the Supreme Court for the purpose of interrogation,” Brahmachari alleged in his petition.
According to Srivastava, Brahamchari went to the NIA for interrogation along with his two lawyers but the legal aides were not allowed to go inside where the questioning was going on.
The petition is likely to be heard soon.
Pragya Singh is said to be the brain behind the Sep 29, 2008, blast at a Malegaon mosque in Maharashtra that killed eight people. The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Mumbai Police has accused her of forming a group to avenge the earlier Mumbai train bombings.
