Purohit gets bail in Malegaon blast case after 9 years in jail
new delhi — The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to former Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, the main accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast which killed seven people after he had spent nine years in prison.
Justice R.K. Agrawal and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre granted the bail to Purohit after telling him not to tamper with evidence.
Purohit had told the apex court that till date charges had not been framed against him while those under the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) had been dropped.
He told the court that he had been in jail for nine years and was entitled to bail.
Purohit had challenged the April 25 Bombay High Court order which granted bail to another accused, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, but rejected his bail plea.
Seven persons were killed in the explosion in Malegaon in Nashik district in Maharashtra on September 29, 2008.
The investigating agencies had earlier attributed the blast to rightwing group Abhinav Bharat.
Purohit will now be attached to an Army unit but remain under suspension from service for now, informed sources said on Monday.
Purohit was suspended from service on January 20, 2009, after his arrest. He was posted at the Deolali Cantonment of the Indian Army in Maharashtra as a Liaison Unit Officer when he was arrested.
The sources said he continues to be under suspension, but since he has now been ordered to be released on bail, he has to be attached to an Army unit. The order for his posting will come after his bail orders reach the Army Headquarters.
He is likely to report back to the unit from where he was arrested. His suspension would be reviewed later, the sources said.
As per the rules, under suspension, he will be treated as “under open arrest”, wherein usually a soldier was supposed to wear only his uniform. Purohit, under suspension, can wear civilian clothes as well.
His stay in his Army unit will come along with restrictions like limited area of movement, not leave the station without permission and reporting daily. —