Reward for information on Malegaon blast witness raised to Rs 5 lakh

INDORE: The CBI has increased the amount of cash reward for providing credible information about a missing witness in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, to Rs five lakh from Rs two lakh.

According to sources, Dileep Patidar, a witness in the September 2008 blast case, had mysteriously gone missing, after the Maharashtra ATS took him to Mumbai (from Indore) on November 18 for an inquiry in the case. According to his family, he has not returned home since then.

Patidar's family had filed a petition in the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court last year, demanding a CBI probe into the matter. The high court ordered the CBI to trace his whereabouts, which are still unknown, despite intensive efforts in this regard.

In January, the CBI had announced a cash reward of Rs two lakh, which has now been increased to Rs five lakh, the sources said.

Patidar, who originally belongs to Shajapur town of Madhya Pradesh was a tenant of Ramji Kalsangra at Indore. Ramji is also wanted by the investigative agencies in connection with the Malegaon and Samjhouta Express blast cases.