Pragya Singh Thakur, the BJP Member of Parliament from Bhopal and accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast that killed six and injured 101, appeared before the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Wednesday.

She told special judge P.R. Sitre that she had to be admitted to the Kokilalben Hospital to which the court replied that she should be present when required.

Ms. Thakur had also appeared before the same judge on January 4 after being given a “last chance” to come before the court. Then co-accused in the Malegaon blast case — Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, Sameer Kulkarni, Ramesh Upadhyay and Sudhakar Chaturvedi — were in the box earmarked for the accused.

Then too, Ms. Thakur had sought an exemption from physical appearance citing medical and security concerns. Her lawyer had told the court that she has an appointment in Kokilaben hospital.

On June 7, 2019, Ms. Thakur had told the court that she did not know anything about the blast. She was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on April 25, 2017 after the court held “prima facie, no case was made out against her”.

So far, around 140 witnesses out of the total 400 have been examined in the case with all the accused charged with murder, abetment and conspiracy under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Ms. Thakur was chargesheeted by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in 2009, stating that the bomb was tied to her motorcycle. The NIA had later found evidence against her to be the weakest and said it was not substantial.

In the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Central agency, it said the motorcycle used in the attack, which was registered in her name, was used by an absconding accused.