No Merit In Malegaon Case Officer's Claim On RSS Chief's Arrest Order: Court

The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court that recently pronounced its verdict in the 2008 Malegaon blast case found no merit in a former Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) officer's explosive claim that the probe team was ordered to arrest Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Besides, special judge A K Lakhoti also rejected the ex-ATS officer, Mehboob Mujawar's claim that two members of the squad were killed in custody, citing absence of admissible evidence and sworn testimony.

"The statement recorded u/s 313 of Cr.P.C. cannot be construed as evidence," the judge said, referring to documents filed by Mr Mujawar before the magistrate court in Solapur. 

The court noted that while these documents were placed on record, Mr Mujawar was not examined as a witness before the trial court, and hence, his claims could not be legally tested.

"The defense had submitted that ATS officer Mehboob Mujawar refused to act on alleged directions from senior officers to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, citing no role found in the case. Whereas, their own officer (Mehboob Mujawar) had denied to obey such illegal order as he did not find any role of Mr. Mohan Bhagwat in the alleged offence," it said. 

Six people were killed when a bomb planted in a motorcycle exploded in a busy market in Malegaon, around 300 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008. The blast was initially probed by the state ATS before the case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the country's top anti-terror body. 

All seven accused, including former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Singh Thakur, were acquitted by the court on Thursday on the grounds that there was "no reliable and cogent" evidence against them.

On Friday, Mr Mujawar, who was part of the ATS team that investigated the blast, claimed they were ordered to arrest Mr Bhagwat. He also claimed there was an attempt to take the probe in the "wrong direction" and that false cases were registered against him for objecting to the plan.

In its over 100-page judgment, the court referred to Mr Mujawar's allegation that he was later implicated in a false case before a local court in Solapur as a consequence of his refusal. The court noted that the documents submitted were part of a separate legal matter and not backed by evidence before the present court.

The court referred to the cross-examination of then Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mohan Kulkarni, who "denied the suggestion that Mehboob Mujawar was sent by them to bring one senior office bearer of RSS". Mr Kulkarni admitted Mr Mujawar was sent to trace absconding accused Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, but denied any directive involving the RSS leadership or public claims of custodial killings.

The judgment also recorded that then Deputy Superintendent of Police Anil Dubey acknowledged that Mr Mujawar was part of the ATS team and was questioned by the NIA over his public statement about the alleged death of Kalsangra and Dange. 

The court noted that "Mujawar's name is not listed in the witness list nor is he examined as a witness before this court by prosecution side or defense side."

"Some documents are not sufficient. It must be proved through the cogent and reliable testimony of concerned witness," the court said. It concluded that Mr Mujawar's claims could not be relied upon in the absence of sworn testimony and cross-examination and therefore, "I did not find any force in the aforesaid contention."