Date:14/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/14/stories/2008111462181500.htm

National

Petition in Nashik court alleges ill-treatment of Lt. Col. Purohit

Rahi Gaikwad

Mumbai: An application alleging ill-treatment of Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit has been filed at the Nashik court on Thursday, said Anti-Terrorism Squad counsel Ajay Misar. Purohit is a suspect in the September 29 Malegaon bomb blast case.

“We have received a vague application, which was filed at the Nashik court by a relative of Purohit. It states that he was being ill-treated. It has no date, time or mention of a lawyer. The application will be heard on Saturday,” said Mr. Misar.

Purohit’s remand ends on Saturday when he will be produced at the court. Currently he is in police custody in Mumbai.

The Hindu received an unsigned fax at 7.25 p.m. on Thursday from Vivek, a Mumbai-based Marathi weekly, touted as an RSS mouthpiece, which alleged that Purohit was being brutally beaten up in police custody. The fax, dated November 13, stated that Purohit’s lawyer Vilas Dalvi had filed an affidavit that Purohit was being beaten up and his condition was critical.

The affidavit says: “Accused no 9 [Purohit] has lost sensation in the left hand and the little finger of his right hand is fractured. His knees were also swollen.”

Purohit was administered narco test twice though he had loose motions, it was alleged. “As all the human rights have been violated, Purohit has become mentally weak,” Mr. Dalvi said. The affidavit demanded that in such a condition, Purohit should be medically examined by a civil doctor, two senior doctors and two Army medical officers.

The fax gave Purohit’s lawyer Avinash Bhide’s cellphone number. However, Mr. Bhide was not available for comment. When this reporter spoke to him earlier on the phone, he did not mention about filing of any application in the court.

When contacted, a source from the Vivek magazine said Mr. Bhide had asked “some” people in Mumbai to circulate the fax among the media.

Meanwhile, the transfer warrant of Dayanand Pandey — picked up by the Uttar Pradesh ATS for questioning for his alleged role in the blast — has been sought till Sunday.