An armyman, who had served with Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit in Military Intelligence, is likely to be made a prosecution witness in the Malegaon blast case as the Anti Terrorism Squad inquiring into the matter has recorded his statement.
"We have recorded the statement of one of the armymen we questioned. This will be used as evidence in the case," a senior ATS official told PTI in Mumbai on Thursday. "He will be a witness in the blast case. We have taken all precautions to ensure that the statement is admissible in the court," the official said.
The ATS recently questioned three armymen, a Junior Commissioned Officer and two jawans, who have served in Military Intelligence with Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, already in custody in the blast case.
A resident of Pune, 37-year old Purohit had allegedly procured RDX and attended several meetings in Deolali to conspire for the blast, the ATS has said. The names of some armymen cropped up during the interrogation of Purohit and Sudhkar Chaturvedi, another accused in the case.
Chaturvedi was first arrested by the Matunga police for possessing a fake ID which was also used as an entry pass for the Deolali cantonment. He was booked in the Malegaon blast case on November 19. On reports that ATS was in a position to file the chargesheet within the stipulated time but its officials are gathering `as much evidence as possible', ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi said "we are interrogating as many persons as possible in the case."
