Malegaon probe: ‘Purohit could even be eliminated by ATS’

Opposing the prosecutions’ plea for a seven-day remand for further investigations into the case, Srikant Shivde, appearing for the accused told the judge that the ATS was trying to implicate him in a false case by threatening Date.

The counsel alleged that Purohit, who had a distinguished service record in the army, was being victimised for political reasons and he could even be eliminated by ATS because he was in possession of Intelligence data of a sensitive nature pertaining to the SIMI and ISI operations, which could embarrass some quarters.

Public Prosecutor A V Ausekar, appearing on behalf of ATS, argued that police custody for the accused was required to trace his connections in Jammu and Kashmir from where he managed to procure the gun for complainant Date from the military quota under the fake designation of Major Date and for giving bogus address in the application form for securing the weapon.