Mumbai, Aug 1 (PTI) A special court here in its judgment acquitting seven persons in the September 2008 Malegaon blast case raised serious concern over allegations made by the accused as well as witnesses that they were tortured and illegally detained by Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) officers.
The ATS had first probed the case after which it was handed over to the National Investigation Agency.
The court in its 1036-page judgment, which was made available on Friday, said almost all witnesses during the course of evidence deposed that they had not given their statements voluntarily but that these were taken under coercion by ATS officers.
“Several witnesses alleged they were subjected to torture, ill-treatment and unlawful detention during the course of investigation,” the judgment said.
While prosecution had claimed these witnesses did not lodge formal complaints against the ATS officers, the court noted that absence of formal complaints cannot be grounds to dismiss their testimony as false or unreliable.
The court added that two prime investigating agencies were involved in the case but allegations of misconduct, torture and illegal detention have been leveled only against the ATS officers and not those from the NIA.
“This raises serious concern over the credibility of the evidence collected by the ATS during its investigation,” the court said.
The court said a copy of its judgment shall be forwarded to the Director General of ATS and also the NIA for perusal and necessary action.
On Thursday, special NIA Judge A K Lahoti acquitted all the seven accused in the case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, noting that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The verdict came 17 years after an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008 killing six persons and injuring 101 others. PTI SP AVI BNM
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