NIA to arrest Samjautha accused for 2006 Malegaon bombings

MUMBAI: Months after NIA took over the investigations into the 2006 Malegaon bombings, the anti- terror agency is set to arrest a suspect in the case who is currently in Delhi Police custody for the 2007 Samjhauta Express blasts.

The suspect, Rajender Chaudhary, will be produced before a special court here in January 3.

The Special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Court today issued a production warrant for Chaudhary in connection with the Malegoan blasts, which according to NIA, were the handiwork of right wing groups.

"The court has issued a production warrant and he will be brought to the court on January 3," Special Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian told PTI.

The multiple bomb explosions in Malegaon, a communally-sensitive powerloom town in Nashik district, about 200km from here, had occurred near a mosque on September 8, 2006, killing 37 people and injuring over 100.

The alleged role of Chaudhary in the terror attack came out through statements of some of the right wing activists who are in custody of NIA in different cases, sources in the National Investigation Agency said.

More arrests will follow once Chaudhary is taken into custody and interrogated, they said.

After the explosions, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had arrested nine suspects - Salman Farsi, Shabir Ahmed, Noorulhuda Doha, Rais Ahmed, Mohammed Ali, Asif Khan, Javed Sheikh, Faroogue Ansari and Abrar Ahmed.