Malegaon blast case: Forced to name Adityanath, says witness; court scraps his statement to ATS

Mumbai: A witness in his testimony to the special court in the 2008 Malegaon blast case had alleged that he was tortured and forced by the officers of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to name Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the case.

Special Judge A K Lahoti, who on Thursday acquitted all seven accused in the case, said he could not rely on the witness's statement to the ATS, as he submitted to the court that it was given involuntarily.

In its over 1,000-page judgment, made available on Friday, the court said that the ATS had questioned prosecution witness Milind Joshirao in October 2008 about the functioning of the right-wing group Abhinav Bharat.

He was asked about a meeting at the Raigad fort, where the accused had allegedly taken an oath to create a separate Hindu Rashtra.

Joshirao, during his testimony to the court, claimed that the ATS had treated him like an accused.

"They (ATS officers) were telling him to take the names of Yogi Adityanath, Asimanand Indresh Kumar, Devdhar, Pragya and Kakaji in his statement," the court said.

The ATS officers assured him that if he took their names, they would let him go free, it added.

The court noted that the witness had refused to do so and hence, the then Deputy Commissioner of Police Shrirao and Assistant Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh had shown the fear of torture to him and extended threats.

It further held that the witness had never stated the things mentioned in the statement, and it was written by the ATS officers, it said.

"Considering his testimony, it clearly indicates that the statement was involuntary," the court said.

The statement raises doubts regarding its admissibility and authenticity as it was involuntary, the court said.

When a statement is given involuntarily without actual knowledge of the facts mentioned in the same, nothing survives in it, the court held, terming it as unreliable.

Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit were among the seven to be acquitted by the court, which noted that the prosecution had failed to adduce cogent and reliable evidence to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Six people were killed and 101 were injured after a blast at Malegaon in Nashik district in September 2008.