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Mumbai/Malegaon:
Even as Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is applying for a
certified copy of the reported confession of Swami Aseemanand,
state Police says it would be difficult to defend the chargesheet
in the court.
"It would be difficult to
defend the chargesheet in the 2006
Malegaon blasts case, especially if the CBI comes up with new
evidence that substantiates Aseemanand’s reported statements", a
media report says quoting state police sources.
The Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) has already been granted permission by the court to
re-investigate the Sep 8, 2006 Malegaon serial blasts.
“It is human to make mistakes and if it is proved then we have to
be sorry. And, the nine men in custody should be released
immediately. But based on the evidence we had at the time and the
statements of the approver, we believed that we were on the right
track,” Indian Express quoted a senior officer as saying.
Interestingly, Abrar Ahmed, one of the
accused, who became approver in the case later turned hostile and in an
affidavit filed in the court claimed that the arrested Muslim
youth were innocent and were framed in the blast case.
Incidentally, the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) had also said in front of the Bombay High
Court on November 16, 2009 that it did not have evidence against
those arrested in the case. The CBI's statement were made by
Public prosecutor D.N. Salvi during the hearing of the petition
filed by Mohd. Zahid, Noorul Huda and Shabbir Masihulla - three of
the nine accused in jail since 2006.
32 people had been killed and more
than 300 were injured when a series of blasts struck
Malegaon on September 08 in 2006 ahead of Shab-e-Barat, a
Muslim festival when thousands of people were busy in offering
Friday prayers in a mosque.
As was the customary for the
investigating agencies during those days, the blast was
immediately blamed on Muslim youth. Later on, police arrested nine
Muslim youths one by one accusing them of behind the blast.
Strangely, one of
the accused, who is in jail and has been chargesheeted as one of
the planters, was some 600 kms away from Malegaon when the blast
occurred on September 8, 2006.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has asked for a
certified copy of the reported confession of Swami Aseemanand to
be able to pursue leads about the alleged role of Hindu extremists
in the 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts.
Aseemanand was arrested by the CBI and he reportedly confessed
before a magistrate last month. In the statement, he allegedly
claimed that the now-dead RSS activist Sunil Joshi had told him
that Joshi and his group were behind the 2006 Malegaon blasts,
among others.
“We have asked for a certified copy of the confession statement.
We will be seeking the help of special prosecutors who have been
appointed specifically for such cases. We will sit and legally
examine the confession statement and then begin our investigation
to collect evidence based on his role,” ATS chief Rakesh Maria
told reporters.
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