SC grants bail to chief Malegaon accused Lt. Col. Purohit

New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit (retired), the main accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast which killed seven people.

A bench of Justice R.K. Agrawal and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre granted conditional bail to Purohit asking him not to tamper with evidence.

Purohit had told the apex court that till date charges have not been framed against him while those under the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) have already been dropped.

He told the court that he has been in jail for the past nine years and was entitled to bail.

Purohit has challenged the April 25 Bombay High Court order which granted bail to another accused, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, but rejected his plea.

At least seven persons were killed in the explosion in Malegaon in Nashik district on September 29, 2008.

The investigating agencies had earlier allegedly attributed the blast to right-wing group Abhinav Bharat.