Malegaon blast case twist: Witness tells court he was forced to name Yogi Adityanath, RSS Leaders
The witness, identified as Milind Joshirao, stated in court that ATS officers detained him for six to seven days and repeatedly threatened torture unless he named five RSS individuals, including Yogi Adityanath, Indresh Kumar, Professor Deodhar, Swami Aseemanand, and Sadhvi Pragya. According to Joshirao, the officers assured his release if he complied; when he refused, he was threatened with physical harm
Special Judge A.K. Lahoti noted that Joshirao's written statement had been entirely recorded by an ATS officer, raising serious doubts about its voluntariness and admissibility in court. The judge highlighted that most witnesses who had turned hostile had retracted earlier statements and underscored concerns over illegal detention and coercion by ATS personnel.
The court's acquittal of all seven accused hinged on inconsistencies in witness testimony and investigative lapses. The verdict also exposed contradictions between the Maharashtra ATS and the NIA investigations, including discrepancies about where the explosives were planted and procedural flaws attributed to UAPA provisions
In a related development, former ATS officer Mehboob Mujawar alleged that senior ATS officials directed him to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to build a narrative of "saffron terror." Multiple acquitted individuals later accused the ATS of planting evidence and engaging in torture during their detention. Former MP Pragya Thakur herself said that her detention spanned 13 days with alleged torture over 24 days, claiming attempts to coerce her into naming high-profile individuals like PM Modi and Yogi Adityanath.
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