Author: Sandhya Jain
Publication: Vijayvaani.com
Date: November 25, 2008
URL: http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=255
As terrorist charges against Sadhvi Pragya, Lt. Col. Purohit, and an endless
list of others become increasingly surreal, the possibility of their being
substantiated in a court of law also appears more remote. Rather than struggle
daily with new sub-plots, the Mumbai Anti Terror Squad (ATS) would do well
to release the accused and abort its nascent career as a thriller-writer.
Even if the tale of 'Hindu terror' had initial
plausibility, it fell apart as the arrests degenerated into a fishing expedition
of anyone who knew anyone, and the list of their "successful crimes"
became truly incredible. The allegation that Lt Col Purohit supplied RDX for
the Samjhauta Express blast blew the case to smithereens as that blast was
caused by an incendiary device; the army does not stock RDX; the impugned
officer had no access to any explosives nor knowledge of bomb-making; and
there is simply no way an army officer could be involved in so much covert
activity without being detected.
Political analysts feel the case was contrived
for political reasons, and the Prime Minister's decision to speak to Mr. L.K.
Advani and depute the National Security Advisor and Intelligence Bureau chief
to meet him suggests unease at the affair. There are whispers that regional
players have driven the crisis to retain their power base, and forced coalition
partners into acquiescence. If this is untrue, the sooner the Centre moves
to dissipate this impression the better, as the crisis is having a deleterious
impact on the morale of the defence forces.
Mr. K.P.S. Gill, the nation's most valiant
police officer, led a citizen's delegation to the National Human Rights Commission
last Friday, where he said that never in his career had he seen a 10-day police
remand for any woman, let alone a sadhvi. Lt Col Purohit has also hinted at
maltreatment, but as only Sadhvi Pragya's affidavit is public so far, it would
be worthwhile to note some of its salient points.
Sadhvi Pragya became a sanyasin in January
2007 and was living in a Jabalpur ashram when the Maharashtra ATS called her
for interrogation in October 2008 as a vehicle that belonged to her was involved
in the 29 September Malegaon blast. Once she said she had sold it to one Sunil
Joshi in October 2004, and the police discovered the latter had been murdered
in 2007, matters should have ended there.
Instead, Sadhvi Pragya was illegally detained
and interrogated for 13 days from October 10-23, with no woman constable ever
present. She was beaten by police officers who also beat her disciple, Bhimbhai
Pasricha, when he refused to beat her. She was subjected to obscene language
and psychological abuse, and felt depressed enough to contemplate suicide.
She was moved from place to place, including being lodged in a hotel, again
without women constables. The ill-treatment necessitated hospitalisation for
nearly six days, after which she was formally arrested on 23 October.
Details of Sadhvi Pragya's narco and polygraph
tests are well known. It is pertinent that a supplementary interrogation technique
- used to cover missing links in criminal cases like the Telgi stamp paper
scam - was used as a primary tool of investigation, repeatedly, even though
it failed to unveil any hint of crime.
This suggests misuse of the ATS by its political
masters. A narco analysis of Swami Sudhakar Pande last Friday caused him to
fall into a coma; he regained consciousness only after eight hours! It is
pertinent that media photographs have revealed that both religious persons
arrested in this case were forced to wear civilian clothing during custody,
a terrible abomination and a religious insult which should be actionable under
Sec. 495-A of the IPC.
Sadhvi Pragya has rightly asked that narco
analysis and polygraph tests be conducted on the ATS officers who handled
her detention and interrogation to unravel the truth about those who masterminded
the conspiracy behind her arrest, and that of others, destroying lives and
reputations in a disgraceful attempt to equate "Hindu terror" with
jihad.
Indeed, the story was so malleable that when
the Samjhauta-to-Malegaon plot began to collapse under the weight of its own
contradictions, the scriptwriters twisted it to incorporate a plot to kill
top RSS leaders, most notably Mr. Mohan Bhagwat! VHP leader Dr. Pravin Togadia
rightly said the Mumbai ATS deserved the Booker Prize for the narrative! Seriously,
however, the Malegaon accused could either have plotted to kill innocent Muslims
or Hindu leaders; not both. Hence, this is clearly a witch-hunt.
In this context, it may be pertinent to know
if Lt Col Purohit, during his tenure in Military Intelligence in Jammu &
Kashmir, had submitted information that impacted adversely upon the ruling
party's political votebank, or hurt some other political interests of the
powers-that-be. Certainly the sudden decision to invoke MCOCA even when no
credible prima facie case could be established against the accused suggests
that there is a desire to hold them in custody at all costs, at least until
the current round of Assembly elections, and possibly also the national elections,
are over.
The Congress-dominated regime's decision to
use MCOCA is invidious also because the UPA at the Centre revoked POTA and
TADA on the plea that existing laws are adequate to tackle terrorism, and
more stringent measures are not needed, either at the Central level, or in
states like Gujarat, where police have a good record of unearthing crime.
The known terrorist Abu Salem, extradited from Portugal, was removed from
MCOCA coverage by a generous state government, though reputed spiritual leaders
and Army officers are being subjected to hideous defamation by selective media
leaks.
Some of the purported evidences are truly
extraordinary. Sexy photographs have allegedly been found in a godman's computer,
and one is at a loss to connect them to the Malegaon bomb blast. There are
audio recordings of mobile phone conversations that could mean anything, as
the word 'bomb' or 'blast' is never used; and there is a witness who has heard
both sides of a telephone conversation! Photographs of public functions where
media was present are being projected as evidence of a private conspiracy,
and overall, the investigation is degenerating into a travesty of justice.
It is time to call a halt to the farce.
- The author is Editor, www.vijayvaani.com
