Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit, one of the main accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, on August 27 moved the Supreme Court seeking Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the matter of his alleged abduction and torture by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in 2008.
In a 24-page letter to National Human Rights Commission, he alleged that he was tortured in the custody of the ATS. He claimed that he was threatened to own up to a crime which he never committed. In April this year, the apex court also allowed Purohit to challenge the charges framed against him.
Purohit, after spending nine years in jail, was granted a conditional bail by the top court in August 2017.
Purohit has been, since 2014, claiming that the confessions had been made under pressure created by the ATS. He has urged that the matter needs to be looked into under a court-monitored SIT so that ‘he could get justice’.
Purohit is accused of masterminding the blast and floating Abhinav Bharat, a right-wing Hindu organization for collecting funds to procure arms and explosives and also organizing meetings where the Malegaon attack was planned.
The blast took place on September 29, 2008, which killed six persons and injured several others.
