Margao blast: NIA releases pictures of four fugitive accused

Panaji: Even as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court fast-tracked the trial in the Margao bomb blast case, the central agency has released the pictures of four accused who are absconding since the blast, sources said. The pictures of Rudra Patil, Praveen Limkar, Sarang Kulkarni and Jay Prakash alias Anna, are uploaded on the NIA website, they said. [caption id=“attachment_89124” align=“alignleft” width=“340” caption=“From the website of NIA”]  [/caption] “We want people to come forward and give information about them,” a senior NIA officer said. The central agency has chargesheeted eight accused, including two deceased, in connection with the Margao blast in November 2009, while four more are absconding. Two accused namely Malgonda Patil and Yogesh Naik, who were carrying the explosives that were supposed to be planted at stipulated locations, were killed on the spot when the bombs went off. Six accused, all affiliated to the right-wing group Sanatan Sanstha, were arrested during the investigation by the Goa police and NIA. NIA court in Goa has fast-tracked the trial, which has been going on since May 2010. The trial is likely to be held on full-day basis for few days during the next two months. Meanwhile, Sanjiv Punalkar, the defence counsel said that NIA’s appeal will yield no results. “Prashant Ashtekar (one of the six accused in the Margao blast) had voluntarily surrendered in Margao blast case after NIA had declared him absconder,” he said. “But despite having bailable charges of destroying evidence pressed against him, NIA has been opposing his bail application,” Punalkar said, alleging the investigating agency of political bias and resorting to witch-hunting. As per the chargesheet filed by NIA, all the accused had planned serial bomb blasts in the state on the eve of Diwali in November 2009. PTI