'No One Should Be Framed Like This': Lt Col Purohit After Acquittal In Malegaon Blast Case
Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit, acquitted in the Malegaon blast case, alleged misuse of power by the Congress-led UPA.
Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit, who was among those acquitted in the Malegaon blast case, on Thursday alleged that he was wrongly framed by people who are in power, apparently referring to the Congress-led UPA regime.
In an interview with CNN-News18, Purohit said no one should go through an ordeal like his after years of trial.
'When the wrong people are in power, they misuse it. Because of that misuse, entire institutions get tarnished. The institutions themselves are not bad. I am talking about investigating agencies — wrong people were in charge, and they misused their power," he said.
Purohit, who was reinstated in the Army pending trial, said the truth has finally come out.
'I am very happy today. No one should have to go through an ordeal like this. No one should be framed like this. This weakens our own country. We are a fantastic nation, a fantastic democracy. Since the very first day, we were saying the same thing. We never changed our stand. I had given the truth in writing on 24th November 2008 — and that is exactly what has come out today," he added.
A special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including Purohit and former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, nearly 17 years after a blast in Malegaon town of north Maharashtra claimed six lives. The court noted that there was 'no reliable and cogent evidence" against them.
Terrorism has no religion, the court said, adding it cannot convict on mere perception.
An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008, killing six people and injuring 101 others.
Purohit had allegedly sourced RDX from Jammu and Kashmir and assembled the bomb at his residence, Hindustan Times reported. However, the NIA court said there is no evidence of storing or assembling the explosives in Shrikant Prasad Purohit's residence.
'No sketch of the spot was done by the investigation officer while doing the panchnama. No fingerprint, dump data or anything else was collected for the spot. The samples were contaminated, so the reports can't be conclusive and are not reliable. The bike allegedly involved in the blast did not have a clear chassis number. Prosecution could not prove that it was in Sadhvi Pragya's possession immediately before the blast," the Court said.
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