Dear friends, do you remember Malegaon bomb blasts of 2008, a predecessor to 26/11? The same blast which brought to light, the concept of saffron terror, right? 9 years later, the facts tell another story altogether. If the investigations are going on the right track, perhaps this is one case, where just to appease the minority community for political mileage, a political power at the centre stooped this low, to shield Islamic terrorism by destroying the lives of four innocent nationalists altogether, the worst case being that of the prime accused in the case, Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit.
Before we proceed any further, following is a quick recap of what happened at Malegaon, on the fateful day of 29th September, 2008:-
The attack occurred in Malegaon, a normally reclusive town not very far away from Nashik, an important spiritual destination in Maharashtra. The attack occurred not only in Malegaon, but also at two other different places, though they failed to succeed, viz. Ahmedabad and Faridabad. These blasts happened only two days after a similar attack, with similar weapons, took place in New Delhi, on 27 September 2008. The attack in Malegaon took place near a hotel in Bhikku Chowk, Malegaon, where bombs fitted to a Hero Honda motorcycle were successfully detonated. It was a low intensity blast that killed 2 people and injured several others.
Soon after the blasts had taken place, investigations were launched into the matter, under the leadership of Maharashtra ATS, which was headed by Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Police and noted ex RAW officer, Hemant Karkare. The team found a close link to the attacks and the timing of the same, which was just close to Navaratri, a holy festival for the Sanatan Hindus all over the world, which is celebrated twice, as per the lunar Hindu calendar, in Chaitramas [i.e. summer] and Ashwinmas [i.e. autumn], and the agitated activities of a few hardlined, radical nationalist organizations, i.e. Abhinav Bharat, the student union Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, among others.
Based on their investigations, the ATS nabbed the following people as accused in the Malegaon blasts case:-
- Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, ex ABVP activist and a nationalist spiritual leader
- Lt Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit, a distinguished Maratha Light Infantry officer, who later joined the military intelligence
- Major Ramesh Upadhyay, a retired Army officer
- Sudhakar Chaturvedi, another retired Army officer
- Dayanand Pandey alias Sudhakar Dwivedi, a spiritual leader heading the Sharda Sarvagya Peeth
Since all of the accused were Hindu, and the bike that was recovered from the blast site found its traces allegedly to a Hindu leader, the ATS came out with a conclusion that this could be the case of Hindu terrorism, readily grasped on by the then UPA government, who coined the term Saffron terror. The 2002 Gujarat riots, already notorious for alleged Hindu involvement, was now used as a weapon to shame and suppress the Hindus into accepting the overrated myth, ‘Terror Has No Religion’, while conveniently raising doubts on the Batla House Encounter Case [remember Sonia Gandhi’s fake tears], and indulging in gross character assassination of the slain martyr, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who had brutally exposed the terror nexus operating in Batla House, and to pay for it with his life.
The term Saffron terror gained strength, when evidences recovered from places like Ajmer, and Amritsar, witnesses of the Dargah bombings and Samjhauta Express blast case linked the accused already behind the bars of the same. Even when one of the biggest blots on the sovereignty of independent India, i.e. 26/11 attacks occurred in Mumbai, senior Congress spokesperson and general secretary Digvijay Singh was quick to link the same to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a nationalist, semi paramilitary based cultural organization, just because the purported terrorists wore kalavas [holy threads].
However, 9 years after this intense drama, it seems, after unearthing several other facts and figures related to the blast, it seems that all of the above drama was a crude joke, and worse, an attempt at the highest level to give cover to Islamic terrorism. After NIA found no substantial evidences that could actually deem Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur convicted, she was let out on bail, bruised, battered and brutally tortured to the level that she attained severe medical complications, none of which can be compensated enough.
Now after further investigations, it seems that NIA is in for further facepalms. According to NIA director Sharad Kumar, there is no direct evidence that could actually hold Lt Col. Purohit and Sadhvi Thakur responsible for either the Malegaon blasts or the Samjhauta Express blasts. This is not all, Colonel S.S. Raikar, an ex-army personnel, who is closely associated with Lt Col. Shrikant Prasad Purohit from his days in military intelligence, dismissed the claims that LtCol. Purohit could be behind those blasts, and had acquired RDX for the same.
While many would dismiss this claim and castigate me for supporting the same, read this statement, and judge for yourself, whether Lt Col. Purohit is actually guilty or not:-
“You have no doubts about his innocence?”
He replied, “Of course no. Capital no. He is innocent.”
“Supplying RDX to Abhinav Bharat to conduct the terror attacks, especially the Malegaon 2008 terror attack. How do you respond to that?
Col. Raikar – “Sheer stupidity. Because when operations take place in insurgency they are not conducted by military intelligence. Military intelligence gives input. Operations are conducted by the fighting formations, the infantry units or counter-insurgency units like the RR.”
Shrikant Shivade, the lawyer representing Lt Col. Purohit, said the “military record was significant” as one of the most important charges against Purohit is that he used RDX retained from a seizure made in Jammu & Kashmir in 2002-03 to carry out the 2008 Malegaon blast in which he is an accused; the RDX was allegedly also used in the Samjhauta blast, in which he is not an accused.
So if the above statements are said in earnest truth, the question arises: was Lt Col. Purohit falsely accused of a crime he never committed?
Was he, along with Sadhvi Pragya and Major Ramesh Upadhyay among others falsely imprisoned, tortured, and forced to give false confessions? If we go by the statements of NIA, and the following facts, it is a bitter, and a deafening yes:-
Although the bike used in the blasts was alleged to have been owned by Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, the name of the actual owner has not been disclosed till now.
No incriminating evidence worth the substance has been disclosed to the public, after the purported investigations were said to have been complete. They were mere allegations, not evidences.
The source of the RDX is also unclaimed till date. While the ATS alleged it to be attributed to Abhinava Bharat, the reality is far from positive in that respect.
Lt Col. Prasad Purohit, as purported by his defence counsel, is said to having possessed some crucial information in terms of military intelligence, regarding the terror network of SIMI terrorists and their masters in ISI, that would have caused a significant chaos in the political spectrum of India, some alleged pseudo secular leaders being actively involved with it.
If this is true, was Lt Col Purohit, a whistleblower, made a scapegoat for knowing the truth?
If the above facts are true, was ATS Maharashtra Region aware of it? If no, wasn’t this a half-baked investigation, based on botched up assumptions? Worse, if ATS was aware, were they too involved in giving wind to the myth of SAFFRON TERROR? Or were they pressurized into circulating the same by the higher command, whether in Maharashtra cadre of Indian Police Service, or at the Centre? If these statements are true, was the martyr in 26/11, Hemant Karkare, also pressurized into circulating this myth? The recent investigations of NIA now pose some serious doubt on the actions of this specific martyr. While none should question his commitment to the nation and his subsequent sacrifice in the nation’s service, the Malegaon blasts cast a serious doubt on the circumstances that led Hemant Karkare to declare the so-called existence of Hindu terror.
If you think this is a bloke, let me tell you something more. Until ex sergeant in Indian Army and Assistant Sub Inspector of Mumbai Police, Shri Tukaram Omble, AC hadn’t caught Ajmal Kasab alive, the UPA government and their cronies had circulated the rumors that RSS and other Hindu nationalist organizations were behind 26/11. If this was possible, how can framing Lt Col. Purohit and others for Malegaon and Samjhauta Blasts Case not be? After all, nobody is perfect.
However, if Lt Col Purohit was falsely implicated, this raises a serious question on the UPA government. Were Malegaon blasts a sinister attempt to shield the terrorism exercised by members of their prime vote bank? Was Congress Party actively involved in shielding the perpetrators of Islamic terrorism? If yes, then will they ever be prosecuted for their sins or not? So should finally prove that Hindu or Saffron Terror never existed, nor does exist?
Given the state of this country right now, even if the Central Government at present takes some serious steps into this matter, it is unlikely, that such traitors will ever be brought to book, and as George Orwell once famously said, –
“THE FURTHER A SOCIETY DRIFTS FROM TRUTH, THE MORE IT WILL HATE THOSE THAT SPEAK IT!”
