Malegaon blast case: Another witness turns hostile, 29th so far

A former Army personnel on Tuesday became the 29th witness to turn hostile in the special NIA court hearing the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The witness, a former colleague of accused Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, had given a statement to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which initially probed the case, in 2008.

While deposing on Tuesday, the witness told the special court that he knew Purohit, but he was declared hostile after he denied giving any statement to ATS.

In his purported statement to ATS, the witness had said while Purohit was working as an intelligence officer, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, another accused in the case, used to visit frequently and stay at Deolali Camp near Nashik.


The other accused in the case include BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town in north Maharashtra, some 200 km from Mumbai.