Malegaon blast case: Court rejects witness claim of ATS pressure to name Yogi Adityanath

UP CM Yogi Adityanath

A witness in the 2008 Malegaon blast case told a special court that he was allegedly tortured and coerced by Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to name Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and others in connection with the case. However, the court rejected the claim, stating that the witness's statement was not made voluntarily and could not be relied upon.

Special Judge A K Lahoti, who on Thursday acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 blast case, noted in his judgment that the statement by witness Milind Joshirao lacked credibility as it was not given of his own free will.

The court’s detailed judgment, running over 1,000 pages and released on Friday, mentioned that Joshirao had been questioned by the ATS in October 2008 about the functioning of Abhinav Bharat, a right-wing group allegedly linked to the accused.

According to the judgment, Joshirao testified that ATS officers treated him like an accused and pressured him to name several individuals, including Yogi Adityanath, Swami Asimanand, Indresh Kumar, Devdhar, Pragya Singh Thakur, and Kakaji. He further alleged that officers promised to release him if he complied, and when he refused, they threatened him with torture.

The court said, “Considering his testimony, it clearly indicates that the statement was involuntary.” It added that the statement, which Joshirao claimed was written by ATS officers, raised doubts about its admissibility and authenticity.

“When a statement is given involuntarily without actual knowledge of the facts mentioned in the same, nothing survives in it,” the court held, calling the testimony unreliable.

The special court acquitted all seven accused in the case, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. It observed that the prosecution failed to provide “cogent and reliable” evidence to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The Malegaon blast, which occurred in Nashik district in September 2008, killed six people and left over 100 injured.

(With PTI inputs)