Malegaon blast: NSA meets Advani, assures fair probe

NSA M K Narayanan assured L K Advani that allegations of torture and brutality levelled by Malegaon blast accused 'Sadhvi' Pragya Singh Thakur against Mumbai ATS will be investigated, BJP sources said.

National Security Advisor M K Narayanan assured senior BJP leader L K Advani that allegations of torture and brutality levelled by Malegaon blast accused ‘Sadhvi’ Pragya Singh Thakur against Mumbai ATS will be investigated, BJP sources said.

Narayanan met Advani on Friday evening to brief him on the Malegaon investigation and to deal with the apprehensions expressed by the BJP leader in his telephone conversation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

“Advani told the NSA that his charges against the ATS were confined to and based on the details mentioned by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in her court affidavit. He clarified that it had nothing to do with the investigation,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said after the meeting.

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Narayanan reportedly assured Advani that Thakur’s allegations against ATS would be investigated.

Intelligence Bureau chief P C Haldar and former IB Director Ajit Doval were also present during the 40 minute meeting.

Advani had on Tuesday questioned the need for conducting so many narco-analysis tests on Pragya Singh Thakur. He had also stated that no lady police personnel was present during these tests.

Subsequent to this statement by Advani, the Prime Minister called him on Thursday to discuss the issue. He then decided to send Narayanan to brief Advani.

ATS threatened to eliminate me in encounter: Purohit

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Prime accused in Malegaon blast case Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit on Friday made a written submission in a court in Pune alleging that Mumbai ATS threatened to eliminate him in an encounter and tried to extract confession from his under duress.

Purohit, remanded in 14-day judicial custody by Magistrate G G Italekar in a 2003 case of alleged forgery in procuring an arms license for one Milind Date in Pune from J&K, sat in the court room to write his grievances after the judge asked him whether he had any complaints regarding his two-day police remand which expired on Friday.

“I have no complaints against Pune police. But I want to submit in writing my grievances,” he said. Purohit’s advocate Srikant Shivde told the court that the accused did not want to air his grievances in an open court and would prefer to put them in writing.

The contents of Purohit’s written submission were informed by his lawyer to the media afterwards.