23 March,2023 07:23 PM IST | Mumbai | PTI
Representational Pic
A real estate agent on Thursday became the 30th witness to turn hostile in the 2008 Malegaon blast case in which Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Thakur is among the accused.
The witness had been recruited as secret informer by Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, one of the accused in the case.
As per the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which initially probed the case, the witness had given it a statement in 2008.
ALSO READ
Mumbai: Case registered against five for travelling to Yemen despite travel ban
IMFL worth Rs 1 cr seized in Navi Mumbai; two held
Gold ornaments worth rupees 2.62 cr robbed from Hyderabad jeweller in Mumbai
Mumbai: Man arrested for staging his own kidnapping to get money from father
Thane: Hotel owner arrested for kidnapping 22-year-old cook in Bhiwandi
But during the deposition before the court, the witness said he did not recollect giving any statement to the probe agency, following which the court declared him as hostile.
As per the prosecution, he is the 30th witness to turn hostile in the case.
Also Read: Antilia bomb scare case: NIA says can*t support former cop*s plea seeking pardon
The prosecution had claimed that the witness had told the ATS that he met Purohit through a common acquaintance and they kept in touch.
Later, Purhohit recruited him for gathering information for the military intelligence and also gave him an identity card, as per the ATS.
Purohit spoke about spreading the Hindutva ideology and told him that he was working on building an organization on those lines, the ATS had quoted the witness as saying.
The witness had also attended a meeting of the secret organization Abhinav Bharat in Pune where other accused were also present, the statement claimed.
The witness, however, recognised only Purohit in the court on Thursday and not any of other accused.
Six people were killed and over 100 injured on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town in north Maharashtra, some 200 km from Mumbai.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever