The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the 2008 Malegaon blast, has recorded statement of former Maharashtra ATS officer Mehboob Mujawar, who last month claimed that two prime suspects — Ramji Kalsangre and Sandeep Dange — were killed by senior ATS officers on November 26, 2008. Sources said Mujawar, who was suspended following his arrest in an Arms Act case in 2009, has named three senior officers of Maharashtra Police, including a serving IPS officer, for allegedly trying to suppress the information despite his petitions. Watch what else is making news: “We have questioned him. Corroboration of his statement is required. Being a former police officer, he claimed to have evidence regarding the killings. That needs to be probed,” an officer said. On September 29, 2008, an improvised explosive device hidden in a motorcycle exploded in a market in Malegaon, killing six people and injuring nearly 100. The motorcycle was purportedly registered in the name of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. In November 2008, ATS arrested several people, including Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Srikant Purohit, and filed a chargesheet against 14 people, including Kalsangre and Dange. The NIA took over the probe in 2011 and, after further investigations, filed a chargesheet last year absolving Thakur. A red corner notice was issued against Dange and Kalsangre with a reward of Rs 10 lakh each. In his statement to NIA, Mujawar reportedly said he had filed an application and submitted evidence before the chief judicial magistrate’s court in Solapur on August 19, 2016, regarding Kalsangre and Dange. The agency has now sought the affidavit filed by Mujawar and said it will examine the evidence provided by him to the court.
