Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, made shocking revelations before a Mumbai Court on Wednesday. Purohit claimed that senior officers of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) coerced him into taking responsibility for the explosion. He further alleged that he was subjected to continuous torture and pressured to implicate leaders of right-wing organizations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and then-Member of Parliament Yogi Adityanath.
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Mumbai: Today (9th April): Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, made shocking revelations before a Mumbai Court on Wednesday. Purohit claimed that senior officers of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) coerced him into taking responsibility for the explosion.
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He further alleged that he was subjected to continuous torture and pressured to implicate leaders of right-wing organizations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and then-Member of Parliament Yogi Adityanath. Purohit made these statements during the court proceedings under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
In his statement, Purohit revealed that he was forcibly detained in a bungalow in Khandala after being taken from his post in Pachmarhi on October 29, 2008. He claimed that he was interrogated by late Hemant Karkare, the then ATS Chief, Param Bir Singh, the then Joint Commissioner of ATS, Gajanan Kabdule, a Police Inspector of ATS, and an individual named Kamble from the State Investigation Department (SID).
“He claimed that during his interrogation, late Hemant Karkare, then ATS Chief, Param Bir Singh, then Joint Commissioner of ATS, Gajanan Kabdule, Police Inspector of ATS, and one Kamble of State Investigation Department (SID) were involved. ‘Karkare, Param Bir Singh, and Col RK Shrivastav, then director of Military Intelligence from Army Headquarters, continued insisting that I should own up to the Malegaon Bomb Blast and name senior right-wing leaders of RSS and VHP, including Yogi Adityanath, the then Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh,’ Purohit stated.
Purohit further claimed,
‘Each and every part of the claimed investigation conducted by these officers is a reflection of their professional and moral corruption and criminal mindset.’
Purohit also alleged that the ATS planted explosive material in a co-accused’s house and fabricated the seizure panchnamas.
He further alleged that witnesses were tortured before giving their statements.
‘With the witnesses turning hostile and bringing out the facts that they were tortured, threatened, detained, at times at gunpoint to extract pre-fabricated statements as required by the ATS and their political masters, it is clear that the whole case against me is a concocted lie,’
In addition, Purohit named the then Director of Military Intelligence, accusing the intelligence wing’s head of subjecting him to treatment worse than that of a prisoner of war from an enemy country.
Background:
Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit is among the seven accused, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Pragya Singh Thakur, currently facing trial for their alleged involvement in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The blast resulted in the deaths of six individuals and left over 100 injured. The trial is being conducted before a Special Court established under the National Investigation Agency Act (NIA Act).
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