A former Maharashtra Police officer, Mehboob Mujawar, who was part of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) investigating the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has made a startling claim: he was allegedly directed to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in connection with the case.
In a conversation with the media, the retired officer stated that the directive came from the Investigating Officer, Paramveer Singh, and was aimed at fabricating a narrative of 'saffron terror' in India. Mujawar made these allegations while responding to the special trial court's verdict on Thursday, which acquitted all seven accused in the case. The court's decision was based on a lack of credible evidence, procedural lapses, and unreliable witness testimonies that undermined the prosecution’s case.
Mujawar further alleged that the verdict exposed a "fabricated investigation" led by a "fake officer." He claimed that he was falsely implicated by the Investigating Officer because he refused to comply with unlawful orders. "They asked me to file a charge sheet showing dead people as alive. When I refused, the then IPS officer, Paramveer Singh, implicated me in a false case," Mujawar said, adding that he has since been acquitted in all the fabricated cases filed against him.
The special court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, nearly 17 years after the blast killed six people and injured over 100 in Malegaon. The court found "no reliable and cogent evidence" against them.
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Initially, the ATS had alleged that the blast was carried out by individuals linked to a right-wing extremist group called 'Abhinav Bharat.' According to the ATS, Purohit and the other accused were part of a larger plot to incite communal tensions, and the motorcycle used in the explosion belonged to Pragya Singh Thakur. But the ATS investigation had serious shortcomings, according to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which later took over the investigation. The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) charges were dropped by the NIA, and some of the accused were given a clean sheet.
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More than 300 prosecution witnesses testified during the trial, which started in 2018, and many of them became antagonistic. The NIA special court found in its ruling that the prosecution had not proven certain essential elements of the case, including that Thakur owned the motorcycle, that the bomb was on the motorcycle.
The judge emphasised that "terrorism has no religion" and that a conviction cannot be based on "mere suspicion" or "moral perception." The court has also ordered an inquiry into serious allegations against an ATS officer and the submission of allegedly fake medical certificates during the investigation.
Also Read: All seven accused acquitted in Malegaon blast case
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