The Hindu : Front Page : Malegaon: judicial custody for 5

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 11, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Malegaon: judicial custody for 5

Rahi Gaikwad

Rahirkar gave huge amounts to suspects, public prosecutor tells Nashik court

Witness’ sealed statement submitted to court
ATS to question high-profile U.P. leader

Nashik: Five Malegaon blast suspects — Ajay Eknath Rahirkar, Jagdish Chintaman Mhatre, Rakesh Dattaram Dhawde, Sameer Kulkarni and Ramesh Upadhyay — have been remanded to judicial custody till November 17 by a Nashik court. Their police custody ended on Monday. Public prosecutor Ajay Misar had sought police custody for Dhawde and Rahirkar.

He said Rahirkar had allegedly given Rs. 1,95,000 to Kulkarni, Rs. 85,000 to Upadhyay, and Rs. 5 lakh to various persons at the behest of Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, who is in police custody. Rahirkar also transferred Rs. 10,73,200 through hawala channels. More information on the person involved in the hawala dealing would be available on Tuesday, said Mr. Misar.

The prosecutor submitted a sealed statement by a witness, whose name was not made public for security concerns. The statement, recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (pertaining to confessions and statements) by the Nagpur judicial magistrate, said huge amounts were transferred to the witness’ account in the State Bank of India’s Deccan branch in Pune.

After a search at Rahirkar’s house on November 4, Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad recovered “account books, stamps, documents, a diary and the original trust deal of Abhinav Bharat,” Mr. Misar told the court. An amount of Rs. 70,500 allegedly owned by Abhinav Bharat was also recovered. The Pune-based organisation has been linked to the blast. Lt. Col. Purohit is reported to have set it up.

The verification of the accounts and Rahirkar’s narco test were still pending, said Mr. Misar. Whether the amount transferred through the hawala channel was used to procure weapons, RDX or other technology was yet to be probed. He said Rahirkar was in Indore for a meeting with one Shyam Apte.

Countering, defence said no proof was submitted to the court to prove that Rahirkar travelled to Indore. Counsel also disputed the date of the house search. As for the money recovered, he argued that Rahirkar was a well-to-do businessman and the cash was his personal property. Counsel, however, conceded that Rahirkar was a “treasurer” of the Pune-based Abhinav Bharat. He belonged to the Warkari sect, with no affiliation to Hindutva platforms.

Mr. Misar said Dhawde was involved in blasts which occurred in Jalna and Parbhani and Nanded in Maharashtra.

An expert in weapons, Dhawde allegedly played a key role in training and providing equipment for a training camp at Sinhagad, Pune, said Mr. Misar. He arranged for accommodation for the participants of this camp, which was attended by a large number of people. “It is necessary to interrogate more than 54 participants.”

Cases have been registered against Dhawde in the Parbhani and Jalna police stations for similar activities. The Aurangabad unit of the ATS asked for the transfer of Dhawde’s remand to it.

Dhawde’s lawyer Bipin Patavde said his client was considered a connoisseur of weapons and that he ran a registered research institute on weapons. Calling them “antique objects,” as they were not in use, he said Dhawde had licence for all the objects he had collected and the exhibitions he had conducted. Dhawde, who had been working in the area of ammunition, was a consultant for various institutes and museums.

The ATS is on the look-out for Ramji and Sandeep Dange, said Mr. Misar. Weapons were allegedly stored at their places.

On Monday, Sadhvi Pragnya Singh’s sister Pratibha Jha submitted an application before the Nashik court alleging that she was not allowed to meet her in Mumbai. It will be heard on November 12.

PTI reports:

The ATS has obtained permission from the court to interrogate a “high-profile leader” from Uttar Pradesh, whose role emerged during the questioning of the other suspects in the Malegaon blast case, Mr. Misar said. “The application was filed seeking permission to interrogate the leader and to obtain cooperation from the Uttar Pradesh government in doing so,” he told PTI.

He declined to identify the leader saying the application was confidential.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page