Prasad Shrikant Purohit move: NIA to build case

After giving a clean chit to Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and dropping stringent MCOCA charges against Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, the National Investigation Agency is now working to make its arguments more foolproof once the matter comes up for hearing in the designated NIA court for taking cognisance.

Sources say the NIA will inform the court that charges under MCOCA cannot be applied against Col. Purohit as he was a “first-time offender” with no previous track record of any criminal or subversive activities. To further strengthen its arguments, the NIA will also argue that earlier charges against some of the other accused persons were also framed backdated to implicate them under MCOCA.

“Ever since MCOCA has come into existence there has been no past precedent where charges have been slapped against an accused who has had a clean record like Lt. Col. Purohit,” a senior official involved in the investigations said. In addition to Lt. Col. Purohit, MCOCA charges have also been dropped against nine others who will now be tried the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

In order to further strengthen its arguments, the NIA will cite the example of another accused, Rakesh Dhawde, against whom the Mumbai ATS had adopted questionable means by framing backdated charges by linking Dhawde with two earlier blasts cases.

Even an NIA internal report says: “Accused Rakesh Dhawde was arrested in the Parbhani bomb blast case on November 11, 2008 and the chargesheet was filed on November 13, 2008 within two days of arrest. He was arrested in the Jalna bomb blast case on November 15, 2008 and the chargesheet was filed on November 15, 2008, that is on the same day of his arrest.” Sources claim this was done with the sole purpose of showing that Dhawde is a repeat offender and thus MCOCA is made out against him.