In a sensational revelation, a former police officer who was part of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) during the investigation of the 2008 Malegaon blast case has alleged that he was instructed to arrest Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat. This claim has been made by a retired Inspector Mehiboob Mujawar on Thursday in reaction to the special NIA court's verdict that acquitted all seven accused in the case, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur. Speaking at an event in Solapur, Mujawar alleged that the direction to target Bhagwat was part of a broader agenda to establish the narrative of "saffron terror."
ATS probe termed as fabricated
According to him, the recent verdict confirms that many aspects of the ATS probe were fabricated. "The court's decision has undone the fake things done by the ATS during the investigation," he said, adding that the entire probe was politically influenced and aimed at implicating certain ideological groups. Notably, while the ATS initially probed the case, it was later taken over by the National Investigation Agency.
Senior officer also named
"The verdict exposed the fake investigation done by a fake officer," Mujawar further said, naming a senior official. He was part of the ATS team that probed the blast at Malegaon on September 29, 2008, in which six people were killed and 101 others were injured, Mujawar said, claiming that he was asked to "go and catch" Mohan Bhagwat. "I cannot say what investigation the ATS did then and why...But I was given some confidential orders regarding personalities like Ram Kalsangra, Sandip Dange, Dilip Patidar and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. All these orders were not such that one could follow them," he said.
Refused to follow 'horrific' orders
He did not follow them as they were "horrific" and he knew the reality, Mujawar added. "It was beyond my capacity to apprehend a towering personality like Mohan Bhagwat. As I did not follow the orders, a false case was registered against me and it destroyed my career of 40 years," he alleged. He had documentary proof to back his claims, the former police official said. "There was no saffron terrorism. Everything was fake," Mujawar said.
Malegaon case: Court acquits all accused
Nearly 17 years after a blast in Malegaon town of north Maharashtra claimed six lives, a special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the seven accused including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Purohit, noting there was "no reliable and cogent evidence" against them. Special Judge AK Lahoti, assigned to hear cases of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), flagged several loopholes in the prosecution's case and the investigation carried out, and said the accused persons deserved the benefit of doubt.
(With PTI inputs)
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