Another witness in the 2008 Malegaon blast case has turned hostile and narrated that he was tortured by the Maharashtra ATS to name Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members in the case. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) kidnapped the witness and kept him in illegal custody for three to four days.
Earlier, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil had expressed his concerns over the increasing number of witnesses turning hostile in the hearings before the court. Over 220 witnesses have been examined in the case till now and 17 of them have turned hostile since then.
Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh was the Additional Commissioner of the ATS, when it probed the Malegaon Blast Case. Over 100 people were injured and 6 people were killed after a bomb went off near a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra on 29 September 2008.
Sameer Kulkarni, an accused in the Malegaon Blast case said that the truth won’t be hidden for long as the witnesses are now telling the truth and bringing out the reality of the Maharashtra ATS.
“The truth came out again before the court today. The witness took an oath and stated that he was illegally bagged by Mumbai ATS in 2008 and the same was repeated over three times. The officials detained him for days and thrashed me while he was in their custody. They even pointed a gun at his head and tried to kill him which even led to a serious ear injury.”
RSS leader Indresh Kumar had demanded an apology from the Congress leaders after a witness in the Malegaon blast claimed that he was threatened by the ATS to accuse Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and four other RSS leaders.
Lok Sabha member Pragya Singh Thakur, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, Sudhakar Diwedi, Major (Retd.) Ramesh Upadhyay and four others were arrested and are facing trial under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code.