File photo: Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur leaves court in 2008. AP photo
In a politically explosive revelation, the government prosecutor on the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, Rohini Salian, has said that she was asked to "go soft" on the accused, which include Hindu extremists, after the BJP came to power last year.
Here are 10 developments in the story:
Ms Salian, 68, who was the Maharashtra government's special public prosecutor in the Malegaon case, told NDTV that she was asked to go soft on the accused by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Hindu activists Sadhvi Pragya and Shrikant Purohit are among 12 people arrested by the Maharashtra anti-terror squad for their alleged involvement in the blasts in 2008.
Ms Salian is counsel for the NIA. She said she was approached by an NIA officer soon after the BJP-led government came to power in May last year. Then in June this year, the NIA officer told her not to appear in a court hearing on the case, she said.
"My conscience is clear and I have told the truth. I want this message to go to the public," said Ms Salian.
The prosecutor said she asked to be "de-notified", which meant she did not want to represent the NIA anymore in the case. But NIA sources claim her contract was not renewed because of under-performance.
In a statement, the NIA said there was no "inappropriate briefing" by any officer to the prosecutor.
Four people were killed and nearly 80 injured in three blasts on September 29, 2008, in Malegaon, around 270 km from Mumbai.
Investigations led the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad - then headed by 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare - to activists of a radical Hindu outfit based in Indore.
The National Investigation Agency arrested three accused but till now, has not filed a single paper against them, said Ms Salian.
In 2011, when the Congress-led UPA was in power, the three accused got bail because the investigation agency failed to file a charge-sheet in time.
Post a comment