The families of the 2008 Malegaon blast victims have written a letter to the Superintendent of Police, National Investigation Agency (NIA), to immediately seek assistance from the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) that probed the case earlier.

The letter has been written to the NIA, which is probing the case now, given eight of the 208 witnesses presented turning hostile. Some of those who turned hostile lately have been crucial witnesses in the case.

Advocate Shahid Nadeem submitted the letter in the special NIA court and also sent it to the central investigating agency. The special judge of the NIA court, PR Sitre, has taken the letter on record and exhibited it.

The letter states, “It can be inferred that the NIA’s competence regarding the trial is reducing based on the pattern of the witnesses. The witnesses are called on by the prosecution without studying their statements and without following any particular sequence. While certain accommodations can be made in exceptional cases when witnesses are unable to be present, it can be seen that such lapses have become routine. The court has also noted the same and asked the prosecution to study the relevance of the witness and their documents before calling them.”

WHY BRING IN THE ATS

The letter adds, “The statements of the prosecution witnesses who have turned hostile were also recorded by the ATS. The ATS is in a better position to brief and assist the NIA and the court regarding the same. However, no effort has been made to reach out to the ATS and seek their assistance for the trial even though they are the ones that conducted the investigation and arrested the accused, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Purohit and others.”

The letter states that victims are ordinary people who lost their family members or were themselves injured in the bomb blast.

“They lead ordinary lives and do not have the same autonomy or power that many of the accused persons do. Despite the same, they are heavily interested in justice, and to that effect the victims have been part of the trial proceedings and appellate proceedings through the years. This letter is yet another attempt to assist the prosecution, in any capacity.”

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a power-loom town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

According to the police, the motorbike was registered in Pragya Singh Thakur’s name, and that led to her arrest in 2008. Lt Col Purohit, who was in the Deolali Army cantonment area, was also arrested at the same time. The accused are being tried under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other relevant laws.