Col Purohit comes out with dignity

A smiling and beaming Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit – an accused in the 2008 Navratri-eve blast at Malegaon – walked out of jail on Wednesday and straightway reported to the Indian Army.

A Military Intelligence (MI) official, Col Purohit, who is in his late forties, had been in jail for the past nine years – and he was the first serving Indian Army officer to be arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra police under charges of terrorism.

Exactly at 1045 hrs, he came out of the Taloja Central Jail in Raigad district – and by 1200 hrs reported to the Colaba Military Station in south Mumbai – a distance of nearly 60 km.

On Monday, the Supreme Court had granted him bail while on Tuesday; he completed the bail formalities at the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court located in the Mumbai Sessions Court.

Since Tuesday evening, the security arrangements outside the prison was beefed up in the wake of the impending release of the officer, however, on Wednesday, it came as a surprise, when the battery of journalists saw a couple of gypsies including one of the Military Police, one sedan and two trucks entering the high-security jail premises. The relatives of the undertrials who were outside the jail – too were surprised at the arrangements.

The Maharashtra police and the Indian Army did not want to take any chances as far as the security was concerned. It also signalled the fact that the Army had not deserted the officer.

As he came out under the heavy escorts, Col Purohit, who was donning a white half-shirt, smiled and waved at media persons, however, preferred not to speak to the media.  The tight security and escort were maintained in the wake of perceived threat perceptions.

Along the route, when he was asked about his plans, he said: “Jai Hind….I don’t know, it depends on the others”
 
Reports at Colaba army unit
At the Colaba Military Station – which is part of Pune-headquartered Southern Command of the Indian Army – he presented himself before the Provost and then taken to senior officials. As of now, it is not it clearly known, whether he would be posted in Mumbai or Pune, also his hometown. However, he wants to attend court hearings. “He wants to attend the court proceedings as and when it happens,” his lawyer  Shrikant Shivade said.

It is also not clear whether the suspension is revoked – but as of now, he was under the “open arrest” policy.  His papers would be forwarded to the Judge Advocate General of India (JAG) branch of the Indian Army, which would go through the details and take a final call.

Col Purohit, who was commissioned to the Maratha Light Infantry in 1994 and had taken part in counter-insurgency operations, was later assigned to the MI field unit.

A resident of Prabhat Road in Pune,  he was a good and bright student, a champion swimmer and also took a keen interest in bodybuilding.

During the course of the nine years in jail, his wife Aparna Purohit and his two sons, aged 18 and 12, stood by him like a rock. His last posting was at Army Centre of Education at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, where he was studying Persian language.