Col Purohit gets bail from SC in Malegaon case
Col Purohit gets bail. It was expected as the present BJP govt is protecting all the accused connected with RSS in all bomb blast cases — Digvijay Singh, Congress Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit is a hero of the nation. He fought against terrorists in Jammu an
The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit, the main accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast that killed seven persons and left 79 wounded. He told the apex court that he has been in jail for nine years without framing of the any charges against him and hence entitled for bail.
The Bench of Justice R.K. Agrawal and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre granted him bail, but with a warning that he should not tamper with the evidence.Purohit had challenged the Bombay High Court's April 25 order that rejected his plea while extending bail to co-accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in the same case. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) that is probing the blasts has accused both of being part of the right-wing group, Abhinav Bharat.The NIA had filed its reply in the case, saying that there was ample evidence against Purohit, but not against Pragya.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, lawyer for Purohit, told reporters after the SC order that the court had “relied on the new charge-sheet filed by the NIA that contradicted what was said in the earlier chargesheets”. The apex court had reserved its ruling on Purohit's bail plea last Thursday, when Salve had pleaded that he does not want to be discharged from the case at present, but wants an interim bail for the interest of justice.
Salve had made out the case that Purohit was allegedly caught in the political crossfire and was falsely implicated in the case.On Monday, the NIA unsuccessfully pleaded before the SC that it should uphold the Bombay High Court order. The High Court had rejected his bail application on the ground that the charges against him were of a grave nature and he did not suffer the kind of disabilities of Sadhvi Pragya.
The political reactions to the development were mixed. Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that the verdict was on expected lines as the BJP government is trying to protect all the accused connected with the RSS in the bomb blast cases. “Col Purohit gets bail. It was expected as the present BJP govt is protecting all the accused connected with RSS in all bomb blast cases,” Singh tweeted.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi accused the Modi government of “going soft” on terror cases..
The Shiv Sena, however, welcome the judgement. “Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit is a hero of the nation. He fought against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir without bothering about his life,” Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters in Mumbai.