Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast who is already behind bars, was arrested formally by Madhya Pradesh police on Saturday for her alleged connection in the killing of RSS leader Sunil Joshi, police said.
According to reports, she was arrested from JJ Hospital on Friday after she was made an accused in the murder of Joshi. She was undergoing treatment there.
Sadhvi Pragya reportedly visited Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) senior leader Sunil Joshi before his murder.
A news channel quoted special public prosecutor Rohini Sailan informing that Pragya was arrested after the Madhya Pradesh Police moved an application in the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Mumbai.
The Madhya Pradesh Police have earlier indicated that Sunil Joshi, who masterminded the 2007 Ajmer blast, was killed at Dewas in Dec 2007 by his co-conspirators as he was ?not behaving properly? .
Joshi was also a suspect in the Samjhauta Express blast case. On Feb 19, 2007, a total of 69 people, mostly Pakistani civilians, were killed and scores injured in a terrorist attack on the “friendship” train that runs between Lahore and Delhi.
Sadhvi Pragya is one of the prime accused in the Malegaon blasts case of Sept 29, 2008.
Mumbai’s Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) claimed that she formed a group to avenge the Mumbai train bomb blasts and that her motorcycle was used in bomb blast.
Arrested RSS leader Aseemanand also was attributed saying in an expose that in March 2006, Pragya Thakur, Sunil Joshi, Bharat Riteshwar and he himself had decided to give a befitting reply to the Sankatmochan blasts by triggering blasts in Muslim religious places.
Aseemanand’s purported confessions before a magistrate referred to involvement of Hindu terror groups in the Malegaon, Samjhauta Express train, Ajmer and Mecca Masjid bombings.