Was on Army duty to join conspirators: Malegaon blast accused Lt. Col Purohit tells HC
Mumbai: Malegaon bomb blast case accused Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court, through his lawyer, that he was collecting intelligence for the Indian Army as part of his duty by attending conspiracy meetings for the 2008 blast.
The high court was hearing Purohit's application seeking that all charges against him in the case be dropped.
Six people were killed and 100 others injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon city in the Nashik district of Maharashtra on September 29, 2008.
Neela Gokhale, the counsel for Purohit, who has been booked under anti-terror laws by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), told a bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik that he had been meeting conspirators and attending secret meetings in a bid to gather information and pass it on to the Army.
Gokhale submitted that Purohit was merely discharging his duties, and therefore, the NIA should have obtained a prior sanction of the Central government to prosecute him.
She said section 197(2) of the CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) barred a court from the cognizance of any offense that had been committed by any member of the Armed Forces while acting in the discharge of his or her duties without the previous sanction of the Central government.
Gokhale cited "documents from the Indian Army, and former Mumbai joint commissioner of Mumbai Police, Himanshu Roy, commending Purohit for the inputs and information he had allegedly shared with them over the years".
"I (Prasad Shrikant Purohit) am pointing out from these documents that I was discharging my duty, infiltrating in the groups and reporting to my superiors for protecting national security," Gokhale said.
"And for this work, they put me in jail, tortured me, and branded me a terrorist," the counsel said.
In September last year, Purohit had filed a plea in the HC seeking that all charges in the case against him be quashed.
He submitted that the NIA, the prosecuting agency in the case, did not seek prior sanction under the Criminal Procedure Code to prosecute him, therefore, the courts couldn't have taken cognizance of the charges against him.
The NIA, however, opposed Purohit's plea.
In an affidavit filed in the high court in September last year, the NIA had said that in attending the conspiracy meetings, Purohit was not working for the Army and therefore, no sanction under 197 of the CrPc was required for his prosecution.
Purohit was arrested in the case in 2009.
According to the NIA, the motorcycle used in the blast belonged to Purohit's co-accused and BJP MP Pragya Thakur.
The HC will continue hearing the arguments in the case on February 2.
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If you have a conscience, apologize to the people: R Ashoka slams Yathindra over Nalwadi comparison
Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka launched a scathing attack on MLC Dr. Yathindra, demanding that he retract his controversial statement comparing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the late Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. Ashoka urged Yathindra to apologize to the people of Karnataka if he had even a shred of conscience and any respect for the Mysuru royal lineage.
In a strongly worded social media post on Sunday, Ashoka stated, “Comparing Siddaramaiah to Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar is nothing short of absurd. Where is Nalwadi, who was bestowed the title of ‘Rajarshi’ by Mahatma Gandhi himself, and where is Siddaramaiah, who has stooped to being a puppet in the hands of fake Gandhis for the sake of power?”
He continued his critique by contrasting the enduring legacy of Nalwadi, remembered fondly by Kannadigas for his people-centric development, with what he termed as Siddaramaiah’s failure to manage Karnataka’s economy, burdening every household with debt.
Ashoka highlighted several stark differences, while Nalwadi built Mysore University over a century ago, Siddaramaiah is shutting down nine universities due to lack of funds. Nalwadi famously sold his family’s gold to build the KRS dam, whereas Siddaramaiah is accused of grabbing 14 sites meant for the public. Nalwadi established Bhadravati Iron & Steel Plant, Sandalwood Soap Factory, and Mysore Paper Mills. In contrast, Ashoka claimed Siddaramaiah's governance drove away industries, investors, and entrepreneurs. Nalwadi pioneered reservations for the backward classes long before it became mainstream. Siddaramaiah, Ashoka alleged, is reducing social justice to a gimmick by sticking labels on doors in the name of surveys.
While acknowledging Yathindra’s emotional attachment to his father, Ashoka emphasized that comparing Siddaramaiah to a visionary like Nalwadi was “laughable, baseless, and a gross insult” to the late king.
In his concluding remarks, Ashoka slammed the government for ignoring farmers’ needs despite an early monsoon. He accused the administration of being caught up in internal power struggles and negligence, forcing farmers into despair. “This government will not be spared from the curse of the farmers,” he warned.
