Purohit free, will have to wait to don uniform
Nearly nine years after he was arrested in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit on Wednesday walked out on bail from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai and reported back to his Army unit.
As he came out of the prison at around 10.45 am, two days after the Supreme Court granted him bail, dressed in black trousers and a white shirt, a team of Military Police and Quick Response Team of the Army escorted Purohit to an army station at Colaba in South Mumbai, stirring a controversy on whether an undertrial should be given such treatment. But sources said he was given “protection” considering the possible security threat to him. His wife Aparna Purohit was present in Colaba to receive him.
Purohit, who was suspended after his arrest, reported to the liasoning unit of the Army's Southern Command in Mumbai and is currently staying at an army establishment in the city and will be under various restrictions including his movement inside the unit, sources at the Delhibased Army headquarters said. The Army is likely to review his suspension from service after examining the apex court order.
Purohit was supposed to attend a hearing related to the blast case at the NIA court in Mumbai on Wednesday after his lawyer filed an exemption plea for the day. “He has been granted exemption by the court. He will be present before the court on Thursday morning,” said Purohit’s lawyer.
Purohit is believed to have requested his superiors in the Army for a posting in Mumbai as he is to appear at the Kalaghoda court.
On Tuesday, Purohit told reporters outside the court where he was produced that he is keen “to wear my uniform again. It is outermost layer of my skin. I am wedded to it. I am very happy to get back into the service of the best organisation in the country if not the world, the Indian Army”.
“I have two families — the Army and my family which includes my wife, my two sons, sister and mother. I cannot wait to return to them,” he said, adding, “The Army didn't let me down.”
While granting bail to Purohit, the apex court had said that there were “material contradictions” in the charge-sheets filed by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Mumbai and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which are required to be tested at the time of trial, and it cannot pick or choose one version over the other.