Malegaon blast case (Part 3): “When Karkare asked Purohit, do you know her?”
Writer Nirendra Nagar describes how after checking in at Bhopal Airport, Purohit learned that he was going to Mumbai, not Delhi. After that what happened?
When the army received an information from the IB that one of its officers, who was learning Arabic in Pachmarhi, was supposedly involved in the Malegaon bombings, an officer Col R.K. Srivastava, who was then the director of the Counter Intelligence Department, was sent from Delhi to Pachmarhi.
Col Srivastava took a flight from Delhi to Bhopal on the next day. By the time he reached Panchmarhi, it was night. Upon arrival, he called all the intelligence department officers studying various courses at the Army Education Corps Training College and Center (AEC) and spoke to each of them one by one. Col Srivastava did not want anyone to have an inkling about his mission. This conversation took place in Brigadier Sandeep Kumar’s office, who was the commandant of the AEC Training School. Lt. Col Purohit was called the last.
Col Srivastava immediately asked him, ‘How many terrorists have you trained in the jungles, Purohit?’ Purohit was taken aback by this question. He said, ‘I haven’t done anything like that.’ The next question was, what do you know about the Malegaon blasts? Purohit said, ‘Everything I know about the Malegaon blasts has been communicated to the Jabalpur liaison unit.’ He referred to a handwritten letter dated October 15, 2008, which he wrote to intelligence officer Major Bhagirath Dey. Purohit also mentioned that ‘I informed Col Vinay Panchpore and Major Praveen Khanzode over the phone on October 13.’ Col Panchpore was the commanding officer of the Southern Command liaison unit, and Praveen Khanzode was an intelligence officer in the Deolali unit.
After that, around 1 a.m., all three went to the AEC mess, and the inquiry continued. In the mess, Brigadier Sandeep and two other officers were present, in front of whom a call was made to Major Bhagirath to ask if Lt. Col Purohit had sent any letter. Major Dey stated that yes, the letter had been received and was with him. Col Srivastava asked Major Dey what was written in that letter and what action was taken based on it. Major Dey explained that in that letter, Purohit had held Pragya Thakur responsible for the blast and also mentioned the role of RSS leader Indresh. According to Major Dey, Purohit referred to Indresh Kumar as an ISI agent in that letter.
We will discuss this letter in more detail later because Purohit has also referenced this letter in court.
Col Srivastava suspected that Purohit under the fear of getting unmasked might commit suicide, so he ordered that any weapons that Purohit had be confiscated. Four weapons were found with Purohit, and all were deposited in the treasury. The next day, Col Srivastava received a call from Major Gen. Rawat in Delhi. After getting updates from Srivastava he asked him to seize Purohit’s mobile phone and ensure that he could not make any calls or delete anything from it. Maybe Major Rawat had received some more information from Mumbai. He told Col Srivastava to wait for a few days.
As instructed by Major General Rawat, Purohit’s phone was seized. For the next few days, nothing was done. No interrogation, no action thought they did meet each-other a couple of times. On October 28, Col Srivastava received another call from Delhi instructing him to confront Purohit again. If he admits his role, bring him to Delhi; if he doesn’t, take him to Mumbai. On October 29 two tickets were booked – one for Delhi and the other for Mumbai.
But Purohit was not informed about this. He was told that he had to go to the Integrated HQ of Army (MOD) in Delhi and meet MI 20 there. Both left for Bhopal from Pachmarhi. Before leaving, Purohit’s phone was confiscated. Col Srivastava made another person to accompany him to ensure that Purohit wouldn’t give him a slip.
After checking in at Bhopal Airport, Purohit learned that he was being taken to Mumbai, not Delhi. He asked why he was being taken to Mumbai when the movement order was for Delhi. Mr. Srivastava informed him that they would go to Delhi via Mumbai. Purohit wanted to talk to his wife to inform her about the revised plan. However, he was told that he could talk after half an hour. Before boarding the plane to Mumbai, Col Srivastava asked Purohit again to admit his involvement in the blast. But he did not. They both arrived in Mumbai around 10:30 PM.
In Mumbai an IB team that was waiting to receive them took both of them to Lonavala where the ATS guest house was located. Purohit was taken to the ATS guest house instead of the Army’s office in Colaba so that media or anyone else would not get a hint that an Army officer was being questioned regarding the Malegaon blast, as it was not confirmed yet what role Purohit did actually play in the blast.
Four senior officials were already present at the ATS guest house to interrogate Purohit. They were – ATS chief Hemant Karkare, ATS DIG Parambir Singh and Sukhwinder Singh, and IB Deputy Director Tapan Deka (IPS). Col Srivastava also joined them. The conversation with Lt. Col Purohit began in a large room. There was also a big screen on one of the walls which functioned as a TV, but when the TV was off, it also served the role of a camera. This means the entire interrogation was being recorded.
Purohit repeated what he had already said in Pachmarhi, that he had informed the seniors that Pragya was involved in it. He also talked about his old connections with the ATS and how he used to go to give speeches at the ATS. Everything went very well for two hours and then there was a coffee break. After that, suddenly, Karakre’s tone changed. Until then, he was speaking in a friendly tone, but suddenly turning blunt he said to Purohit, ‘Tell me the truth, what is the matter.’
The way Karkare asked surprised Purohit, but he repeated the same thing he had said before, that Pragya Thakur was involved in this, and he had told this to his seniors. Hemant Karkare then said to someone, ‘Bring her here.’ Everyone began to wonder whom the ATS chief was calling. They saw someone entering the room from the right side. And it was Pragya Thakur. Seeing Pragya, Purohit was stunned and lowered his eyes, continuing to look down at the ground.
Karkare said, “Do you know her? Who is she?”
Purohit didn’t say anything. Just kept his eyes fixed to the ground. “Do you know her?” he asked three to four times, “Don’t look down. Look at me and tell me, do you know her?”
Hemant Karkare was not addressing Purohit by name as part of a strategy as he was going to ask the next question to Pragya and wanted to know what she had to say about Purohit.
When Purohit did not say anything even after being asked four to five times, Karkare asked Pragya, ‘Do you know him?
Pragya said instantly, “Yes, I know. He is the Colonel.”
Ajay Rahirkar and Rakesh Dhawde entered next. Ajay Rahirkar was suspected of financing the blasts and Dhawde of collecting weapons. Both recognized Lt Col Purohit, but Purohit sat still like a statue. Finally, around 3:30, the interrogation ended.
What happened next? Did Purohit confess to his crime or did he stick to his stand?
( We will find out about this tomorrow. )
(THE WRITER IS EX EDITOR, NAVBHARAT TIMES WEBSITE)