Author: TN Raghunatha
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 20, 2008
URL: http://dailypioneer.com/135690/ATS-runs-out-of-ammo.html
Shrikant Shivde, defence counsel for key Malegaon
blast accused Lt Col Prasad Purohit, on Wednesday alleged that by seeking
custody in different cases, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) was desperately
trying to invoke the provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime
Act (MCOCA) against his client.
On a day when First Class Judicial magistrate
(JFMC) GG Itkalkar remanded Purohit to police custody in a forgery and cheating
case till November 21, Purohit's counsel charged that by demanding his client's
police custody repeatedly, the ATS wanted to show Purohit had committed more
than three offences so that it could project him as a member of an organised
crime syndicate, a pre-requisite for booking a person under MCOCA.
Purohit's counsel also charged that the ATS
was drumming up charges against his client. Given his exceptional credentials
as a serving Army officer who had participated in many military operations,
including operation Vijay and Operation Rakshak, and had killed many terrorists
during his career, it was sad that the ATS was terming Purohit as an anti-national,
defence counsel said.
Purohit's counsel also produced a set of commendations
and a document showing that he had been invited by the ATS to deliver a lecture
on terror combat techniques.
Alluding to a complaint filed by a Pune resident
against Purohit that the latter had produced fake documents to help the former
obtain an arms licence, Shivde said that Pune resident Shirish Date had with
the help of Purohit got an arms licence way back in 2005, why did not the
ATS not take action against the complainant assuming that he did not possess
a valid arms licence.
Dwelling on the manner in which his client
was being harassed by the investigating agencies, Shivde told mediapersons
that the CBI and Haryana police had at one stage handed out deaths to Purohit.
Ahead of the production of Purohit before
Pune's Shivajinagar court, there were hundreds of activists belonging to various
Hindu organisations raising slogans expressing their solidarity with him.
As he was being escorted back to the ATS van
after the court remanded him to police custody for two days in forgery and
cheating case, the Hindu activists showered rose petals on the officer and
raised slogans of ''Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji'' and "Purohit Tum Aage
Bado Hum Saath Hain". Giving a new twist to the Malegaon blast case,
Purohit on Wednesday alleged in a Pune court that he was being victimised
for "political reasons" as he was in possession of information pertaining
to SIMI and ISI that could embarrass some quarters.
Purohit's counsel Srikant Shivde alleged that
the officer was in possession of intelligence data of a "sensitive nature"
regarding SIMI and ISI operations and could even be eliminated.
Meanwhile, a Pune court remanded Abhinav Bharat
activist Sameer Kulkarni, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, to police
custody for a day in a case involving the alleged attack on a Christian leader
in 2007.
The remand felicitated the Khadki police to
question Kulkarni for a day in question with in connection with a case lodged
against him in 2007 for allegedly being a part of the group that assaulted
Pastor Peter David Silway of Vineyard Workers' Church.
Like in the case of Purohit, hundreds of activists
belonging to Hindu organisations had turned out in a large numbers to express
their solidarity with him. They raised vociferous slogans for Kulkarni.
Meanwhile, the probe into how Hindu outfits
accused of terrorism had links with some Armymen brought a few business houses
under the scanner of Maharashtra's ATS and Central Security agencies investigating
the finances of the group allegedly responsible for Malegaon blast. Sources
attached with the probe said that a religious leader from Southern Gujarat
was one of those who collected funds from the business houses.
Working on the chain of events about finances
of the Abhinav Bharat, a little known saffron outfit allegedly involved in
the September 29 Malegaon blast that left six people dead, sources said names
of some of the business houses in Maharashtra as well as Gujarat cropped up.
A check was being done whether the business houses were aware about the end
use of funds. "We have questioned some of them and we are working to
ascertain as to how much of money had been handed over to the saffron outfit,"
a senior probe official said on the condition of anonymity. The names of the
business houses were not divulged for security reasons, reports PTI.
