Sadhvi Pragya and the Malegaon mess

June 10, 2013

Pic: english.samaylive.com

Is the Malegaon 2006 blast case doomed? It started off with the Maharashtra ATS arresting several Muslim youth claiming that they were behind this attack and over the years the theory changed and a new set of accused comprising Hindus came into the fray.


There was so much hoopla around the arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur who was named as one of the main accused in the case. However what is surprising is that her name does not even figure in the chargesheet which has been filed by the National Investigation Agency which took over the case from the Maharashtra ATS. Sources tell rediff.com that there was not enough evidence on hand to file a chargesheet against Sadhvi Pragya Singh and even if they were to file a supplementary chargesheet her name may not figure in it.




The question now is whether Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur will walk free after spending so many years in jail despite her health condition deteriorating. Her legal team says that it is a good sign that her name does not figure in the Malegaon 2006 chargesheet and they see this as a positive. It becomes clear that allegations against were thrown in the heat of the movement and when it finally came to closing the case there was not enough evidence against her. 


Her advocate Ganesh Sovani tells rediff.com that there is a long way to go before she  could walk free. There are two more cases against her and in addition to this they are also questioning the decision to book her under the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA). She is still being investigated for her alleged role in the Malegaon 2008 blasts case. She is also an accused in the murder of Sunil Joshi a case that emerges out of Indore in Madhya Pradesh.


The NIA says the 2008 Malegaon and the Sunil Joshi murder cases are still under investigation and they are hopeful of finding evidence against her in these cases. A lot about the two cases are based solely on the evidence that emerged from the confession of Swami Aseemanand. However he retracted his statement claiming that it was done under duress.
The NIA finds itself in a catch 22 situation where the Malegaon 2006 case is concerned. On one hand it has found it hard to gather evidence against any of the accused and on the other hand it also deals with the original case that was set up by the Maharashtra ATS. The ATS had named nine Muslim youth in the case. However all these persons were granted bail, but till date no court has proclaimed them innocent which only means that the entire case continues to hang in the balance.
There are two arguments to this in the investigation circles. Speaking to some of the officers gives the impression that each one is trying to out do the other. The NIA moved too quickly to overturn the findings of the ATS. The ATS argues that there ought to have been some more time taken before the names of the accused were changed so suddenly. However the NIA says that it was the ATS which has caused this confusion. They were the ones who named the Muslim youth and it was later that the ATS chief, Hemanth Karkare who said that the 2006 Malegaon case was the handiwork of the Hindus.
This confusion has only led to a trauma for several accused. The nine persons who are out on bail cannot claim with confidence that they have been exonerated. In the case of Sadhvi Pragya Singh, she had to face an ordeal for nearly four years only to realise that her name does not even figure in the chargesheet. No  one in the investigating agency can point out for sure as to who the accused is and this is the biggest irony in this case.


Her family says that the officers have been very unfair on her. They are desperate to elicit information and have resorted to various third degree tactics to force information out of her. However she is strong and has sustained all this, her family claims. They further allege that she was beaten by male police personnel and the fact that she was suffering from breast cancer was never taken into account. Her family says that the right side of her body is paralysed and she may not live for more than one year.


Sadhvi’s well wishers say that she has been a victim of politics and the probe agencies are being used to further the cause of their political masters. The agency is well aware that there is not a strong case on hand, but would continue to pro long the case and ensure that these persons remain in jail for however long they can.

Source: http://vickynanjapa.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/sadhvi-pragya-and-the-malegaon-mess/