Forced to name Yogi Adityanath in Malegaon blast case, says witness in court
PTC News Desk: A witness who turned hostile in the 2008 Malegaon blast case has alleged in court that Maharashtra ATS officers tortured and forced him to falsely name Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other RSS members. His statement has surfaced following the recent acquittal of all seven accused in the case.
The witness, Milind Joshirao, was one of 39 individuals who retracted their earlier testimonies during the trial. He was originally presented to help establish the alleged motive behind the creation of Abhinav Bharat, the group the ATS blamed for the 2008 blast that killed six and injured over 100. However, instead of corroborating the ATS’s version, Joshirao testified that officers Shrirao and Param Bir Singh threatened him with torture and pressured him to implicate Adityanath and other RSS leaders.
"ATS treated me like an accused and kept me for seven days at their office. The officers pressured me to name five RSS individuals, including Yogi Adityanath, Asimanand, Indresh Kumar, Professor Devdhar, Sadhvi, and Kakaji, in my statement. They assured me I would be released if I did so. When I refused, DCP Shrirao and Additional Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh threatened me with torture,” Joshirao was quoted by NIA Special Judge AK Lahoti as saying.
“It clearly indicates that the statement was involuntary. Even if the contents of such a statement are proven by the investigating officer, it may still be insufficient, as it raises doubts regarding its admissibility and the authenticity of such an involuntary statement," the court noted.
On July 31, a special court in Mumbai acquitted all seven individuals accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, stating that there was a lack of "reliable and convincing evidence" against them. The court also pointed out multiple shortcomings in the investigation carried out by the Maharashtra ATS, which handled the case before it was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
- With inputs from agencies
