Lt Col arrested for Malegaon blast

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Police on Wednesday arrested a serving Lieutenant Colonel for allegedly supplying money and explosives for the September 29 Malegaon blast. This is the first instance of an army officer being held in connection with with a terror attack.

ATS began interrogating Purohit after his name cropped up in investigations following the arrest of two retired army officers for their role in the Malegaon blasts. The Maharashtra ATS placed Lt Col Srikant Purohit under arrest after questioning him for his alleged role in supplying money and explosive material for the explosion.

Purohit was produced before a Nashik court where he was remanded to 10 days of police custody. The court also allowed the police to subject him to narco-analysis tests. The court has also ordered scientific tests on Purohit.

Chief Judicial Magistrate K D Boche allowed the ATS to conduct polygraph, brain-mapping and narco analysis of Purohit and remanded him to police custody till November 15. Purohit has been accused of transferring of huge amounts through ���hawala��� to Ajay Rahirkar who is already in ATS custody.

He also sent SMS to ex-army officer Ramesh Shivji Upadhyay, also in ATS custody, after the September 29 Malegaon blast case was cracked by ATS saying ���that we are on ATS radar,��� Public Prosecutor Ajay Misar told the court.

Misar said the Malegaon blast is a sensitive case in which six persons died and many were injured. Even the forensic report revealed that explosives, including RDX, were found and it was necessary to get 14-days police custody of Purohit for interrogation.

He said Purohit conducted several meetings of ���Abhinav Bharat���, a saffron group, in Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi, Gujarat. Purohit had also attended meetings in Pune, Kashmir, Mirzapur and Bhonsala Military School at Nashik where some of the accused were also present, Misar said.

In a ���panchanama��� (statement) of Rakesh Dhawade, who is among the eight persons arrested by ATS, it was noted that four arms and live cartridges of Lt Col. Purohit were kept with Dhawade, the public prosecutor told the court.
Purohit was interrogated two days ago by ATS in connection with blasts in Malegaon and was arrested, Additional Commissioner of Police Parambir Singh said.

While Singh refused to give details about Purohit���s role in the blasts, Mumbai Police officials said the Lt Col, belonging to Maratha Light Infantry, was allegedly instrumental in helping organising people for the blasts. The army authorities were awaiting a formal information from the Mumbai police before they could begin departmental proceedings against him.

The army officer, who came under the scanner for his alleged role in the blasts, was stationed at the Army Education Corps Training College and Centre at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh. He was doing a course in Arabic at the Army Education Corps College.

In Delhi, Deputy National Security Adviser Shekhar Dutt said the alleged involvement of the Army official in the crime was a matter of concern. ���It is certainly a matter of concern nobody should consider themselves above law,��� Mr Dutt told reporters.

The police are going ahead with the investigation into the Malegaon blast on whatever leads they had got, Mr Dutt said. He also said the police have the right to detain anybody they find to be on the wrong side of law. ���To detain a person for questioning police have the right,��� Mr Dutt said.