Malegaon blast: NIA orders magisterial probe against Manohar Narwariya

Mumbai: A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday ordered a magisterial probe into the alleged attack on 2006 Malegaon blast accused Manohar Narwariya in judicial custody.

The court, which has ordered an inquiry against four jail officers AS Pansare, HS Mint, Sachin Zinzude and Guard Shivaji Devkar, has sought a reply on why action should not be taken against the doctor of JJ Hospital for not submitting detailed report on Narwariya's condition.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court had issued notices to eight persons who were discharged in the 2006 Malegaon bomb blast case by a special court on April 26.

A division bench of Justices RV More and Shalini Phansalkar Joshi had issued notices to Noorul Huda, Raees Ahmed, Salman Farsi, Farogh Magdumi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali, Asif Khan, Mohammed Zahid and Abrar Ahmed while seeking their replies.

The special court's decision to absolve the accused of all terror charges was based on the NIA's findings that showed the 2006 blast was the handiwork of a Hindu extremist group.

After the special court's verdict, the state government filed an appeal before the High Court, challenging the order to discharge the eight accused.

Urging the High Court to set aside the order, the state government contended that the sessions' court's order was "illegal and unjust" and was contrary to the evidence on record.

In its appeal, the Maharashtra Government argued that the trial court's conclusion that Muslims would not plant bombs inside a mosque was "wrong" and had "no legal basis".

The serial bomb blasts outside a cemetery near Hamidia mosque at Malegaon, near Nashik, on September 8, 2006, claimed 37 lives and injured over 100 people.