'Never consulted' about dropping MCOCA in Malegaon case: prosecutor

Special public prosecutor of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Avinash Rasal has said that the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) are "applicable" on the 10 people accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including Lt Colonel SP Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, reports The Economic Times.

Rasal said that the NIA had "never consulted" him before proposing to drop the charges under MCOCA.

In 2014, after the BJP took power in the Centre, the previous special prosecutor, Rohini Salian, said she had been asked by an NIA official to "go slow" in the case.

A special NIA court may hear the case on Monday, and the NIA is likely to seek more time to file the response, said a government official. The NIA wants an opinion from Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi on the applicability of MCOCA against Purohit, Sadhvi and the others.

Rasal said: "I have been arguing on behalf of the NIA during which I showed it to the court that MCOCA is applicable. As many as 24 applications of bail have been rejected by the court between September ...and January 22 this year ... In my court appearances, I strongly said those arrested conspired to revolt against the government. They wanted to have a Hindu Rashtra and they were trying to overthrow this government and that is why the provision of MCOCA is applicable."