Army embarrassed over Malegoan blasts case involvement

STAINED PRIDE: The officer is suspected to have helped bomb blast accused sadhvi (Hindu missionary) Pragya Thakur.

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New Delhi: The implication of suspected involvement of three soldiers in the Malegaon blast case has deeply embarrassed the Indian Army.

Army sources claim the Mumbai ATS interaction with lieutenant colonel Prasad Purohit has produced nothing substantial so far.

However, the police are reviewing the answers given by Purohit and questioning will resume on Saturday or Sunday.

Top brass at the annual senior commander's conference in Delhi though agreed the whole incident is an aberration. But they are confident that the army's secular ethos has not been stained.

Maharashtra's (ATS) had on Thursday began quizzing a serving lieutenant colonel for his alleged links to the Malegaon blasts that left six people dead. The ATS has also arrested two retired officers on similar charges.

The sleuths are interrogating the officer in the supervisory presence of another Indian Army officer, a judicial magistrate and a law officer after obtaining permission from the Army Headquarters in New Delhi.

The officer is suspected to have helped bomb blast accused sadhvi (Hindu missionary) Pragya Thakur, retired Army major Ramesh Upadhyaya and his associate Sharad Kulkarni in procuring RDX used in the blasts.

The lieutenant colonel is currently posted at the Army Education Corps School in Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh.

The army had given permission to quiz the officer with a stipulation that he would not be handed over to the ATS at this stage and that another army officer would be present during the interrogation.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut says that his party will lend support to Sadhvi and the other accused in the Malegaon blasts.

Raut said, “Be it saadhvi or others who've been detained are called Hindu terrorists. It's an obstacle for Shiv Sena. Our party has decided to help them out in every way possible.”