Malegaon blast: NIA to interrogate accused army officer
July 19th, 2011 - 10:34 pm ICT by IANSMumbai, July 19 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was Tuesday allowed to interrogate, for eight days, Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit and two other key accused in the 2008 blast near a mosque in Maharashtra’s Malegaon town.
The permission for the custody of Purohit, Dayanand Pandey and retired army major Ramesh Upadhyaya was given by a special court set up under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) here.
The NIA recently took over the Malegaon blast probe from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and had urged the court to allow the custodial interrogation of the three accused.
Purohit is the first serving Indian Army officer accused of his involvment in any terror act in the Muslim-dominated Sukka Bazaar in Malegaon.
The ATS in a charge sheet filed in 2009 alleged that Purohit and 11 others had planned and executed the blast in Malegaon Sep 29, 2008. The bombing left six people dead.
Purohit, who was serving in Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested in November that year.
The charges also name him for procuring explosives used in the blast and is one of the founder members of rightwing Hindu group Abhinav Bharat.
Those named in the chargesheet include Sadhvi Pragya, Sameer Kulkarni, and Rakesh Dhavade. Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, two more accused, have been declared as absconders.
- Malegaon blast: Chargesheet against Pravin Mutalik - Apr 22, 2011
- Maharashtra ATS arrest Mutalik in Malegaon blast case - Feb 01, 2011
- 11 Malegaon blast accused to be charged under MCOCA (Second Lead) - Jul 19, 2010
- Malegaon blast case: Supreme Court to hear Sadhvi Pragya 's appeal - Oct 04, 2010
- Another key accused in Malegaon blast held - Feb 01, 2011
- High court grants bail to two Malegaon blast accused - Aug 03, 2011
- Malegaon blast: Purohit's custodial interrogation put off - Mar 21, 2012
- Another key accused in 2008 Malegaon blast held (Lead) - Feb 01, 2011
- Sadhvi Pragnya files fresh bail plea - Nov 18, 2011
- Malegaon blast case: Bombay HC brings backs MCOCA charge against Sadhvi Pragya - Jul 19, 2010
- Malegaon blast accused not part of RSS: Ram Madhav - Feb 11, 2011
- Malegaon blast accused to contest Uttar Pradesh polls - Jan 23, 2012
- Army officer refused bail in Malegaon blast case - Nov 10, 2011
- Sadhvi Pragya's aide moves court against 'harassment' - Jan 12, 2011
- Court accepts plea by Sadhvi Pragya's aide - Jan 17, 2011
Tags: abhinav, crime act, custodial interrogation, eight days, founder members, hindu group, indian army, indian army officer, investigation agency, involvment, maharashtra, national investigation, purohit, rakesh, ramesh, ramji, sameer, sandeep, shrikant, upadhyaya