Mumbai: LT Col Prasad Purohit, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, has claimed that he was tortured to own up his role in the blast and name senior right-wing leaders of the RSS and VHP, Yogi Adityanath, who was then an M.P. from Uttar Pradesh. Purohit has said this in his statement submitted before the special court on Tuesday.
The special court has been recording the statement of all the accused who are being prosecuted for their alleged role in the blast. The court has finished recording the statement of Purohit and some other accused as against the evidence presented by the prosecution. At the end of the process, the special court asked Purohit if he had to make any submissions, that’s when his lawyer Viral Babar submitted a 23- page long written statement.
In his statement Purohit alleged that, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has concocted the false case to suit the political narrative of the then government in power. He has alleged that it was only in August 2008, the then President of National Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) at a rally of his party workers at Alibaug made a mention of ‘Hindu terrorist’ group and thereafter the term ‘Hindu terror’ came in the limelight.
Besides, he claimed that in the last week of October 2008, Col R.K.Shrivastav (now retired), the then Director Military Intelligence from Army Head Quarters came to Panchmarhi, where Purohit on duty and there he was asked to surrender his mobile phone. Later, on October 29, 2008, he was asked to proceed to Delhi. But at Bhopal he was directed to reach Mumbai. He claimed that upon reaching Mumbai he was taken to Khandala where he was tortured to reveal his sources and network of informants, Purohit stated.
In his statement Purohit claimed that the investigating officer failed to collect basic information about his line of duties, special tasks that he was assigned and projects he was working as a part of a military intelligence unit.
Purohit claimed that another accused Sudhakar Chaturvedi was a registered source of the Army and that the NIA probe confirmed that the ATS had planted traces of RDX at his house to implicate him in the case.
Purohit has highlighted his achievements as an army officer and said that due to the knee injuries suffered in an anti-terrorist operation at Kupwara in 2002, where he allegedly killed three Afgh. terrorists, he was shifted to Military Intelligence (The Int Corps). He served Kashmir from 2002 to 2005, thereafter he was transferred to Southern Command Liaison Unit at Deolali, having its’ Head Quarters at Pune.
Purohit claimed that he had reported about the meeting of Dawood Ibrahim with CPIML leader Dr Ganapati. He claimed that the said meeting was to streamline the arms, ammunition, war like stores and drug supply from ISI, Pakistan to Left Wing Extremists and Naxalites in Dandakaranya after the supplies were stopped from Nepal. He had also submitted a report on spread of Naxalism and Left-Wing Extremism spreading from Eastern Maharashtra to Western Maharashtra all along Maharashtra – Madhya Pradesh Border, Thane and Palghar.
Besides, in 2006 – 2007 he submitted a report on Dr Zakir Naik, the founder of Islamic Research Foundation who he claimed was involved in illegal fund raising and funding terror org.zations on behalf of ISI of Pakistan. Besides, he had submitted a report on a fake currency racket operating in South India.
