Joshi murder: NIA to seek MP court's nod for probe

Though the Madhya Pradesh government has reluctantly handed over the former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker Sunil Joshi murder case to the National Investigative Agency, the latter has to seek court approval to move further in the matter as the state has already submitted the case for trial in Dewas court.

"Our stand in the case was clear from the beginning that since the case is being submitted for trial in a court in Dewas town, the NIA has to seek the approval of the court to move further in the matter," Ashok Das, principal secretary, home, told PTI in Bhopal on Friday.

NIA suspected that Joshi, who was murdered under mysterious circumstances near Dewas on December 29, 2007, had a role in Samjhauta Express, Malegaon, Ajmer Dargah and Mecca Masjid (Hyderabad) blasts and insisted that the case be handed over to it, but Madhya Pradesh government which initially resisted the move finally handed over the probe to it.

The Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta, said, "We

have handed over the case to NIA by putting forward our view point, but this will not augur well for the Centre-state relationship. I think it is the violation of the laid down limits between the Centre and the states."

Meanwhile, NIA has filed an application in the Dewas court and it will come up for hearing on July 25, court sources said.

Earlier, the Dewas police have filed a chargesheet on March one against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and others in connection with the murder of Joshi in 2007.

The chargesheet said that Pragya confessed before the Dewas police, in Mumbai that Joshi was killed because he "misbehaved" with her and his overall behaviour was something not expected by a woman.

Besides Pragya, the chargesheet names Anand Raj Kataria, Harshad Solanki, Vasudev Parmar and Ramchandra Patel as accused in the case.

All of them have been charged under sections 302, 120B, 201 and 34 of the IPC and sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act while two other accused in the case Mehul and Rakesh, both hailing from Gujarat, are still absconding.

NIA officials could not be reached for comment.