Author: Mateen Hafeez
Publication: The Times of India
Date: November 18, 2008
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sadhvi_alleges_physical_mental_torture_by_cops/articleshow/3725436.cms
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, arrested in the
Malegaon blast case, has filed an affidavit in a Nashik court saying she was
physically and verbally abused and traumatised to the extent that she wanted
to commit suicide. She also demanded ATS officers, who questioned and allegedly
beat her in custody, be subjected to narco analysis and polygraph tests to
establish the truth. The ATS, however, has denied the allegations.
The affidavit was filed in the court of chief
judicial magistrate, H K Gantra, in Nashik on Monday. Eight people suspected
to be involved in the September 29 Malegaon blast were produced in the court
and sent to judicial custody till November 29.
While the faces of the seven male accused
were covered with burqa, Pragya appeared in her sadhvi attire - saffron robes
and vermilion on her forehead. Pragya told the court she was abused and tortured
physically. Her relatives moved an application before the court alleging they
weren't allowed to meet her in jail. The court said they could meet her when
they go the jail.
Umesh Walzade, Pragya's lawyer, filed the
affidavit on behalf of her. The sadhvi, in her affidavit, said during her
"illegal detention" at the ATS headquarters in Mumbai, she was beaten
day and night. "On two occasions I was even woken up in the early hours
of the morning and questioned about my knowledge of the Malegaon blast. I
was beaten by a senior officer having moustache, whom I can identify. I was
subjected to vulgar abuse and obscene language by members of ATS."
