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2008 Malegaon blast: Govt didn’t intervene for Purohit’s bail, says Rijiju
Union minister Kiren Rijiju said Shrikant Purohit getting bail in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case was a “process of the judiciary” and the government did not need to intervene.
Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju dismissed on Monday a Congress leader’s accusations against the government on Lt Col Shrikant Purohit getting bail in the 2008 Malegaon blast case and said whoever deserves justice would get it.
There was no conspiracy about it, the minister said when asked for a response to Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh’s comment.
He added that it was a “process of the judiciary” and the government did not need to intervene.
“What is the conspiracy about it? The Congress has the habit of raising this issue. Why should we intervene? This is a process (that was) started a long time back and it’s a process of the judiciary. Why should we intervene?
“Whosoever deserves justice will get it. My saying anything won’t change it,” Rijiju told reporters on the sidelines of an event of the border guarding force ITBP.
He said he would not like to comment on statements made by Digvijaya Singh on the issue. “He (Digvijaya Singh) has the habit of saying all these things. Why should I respond to that?,” the minister said.
The Congress general secretary had tweeted saying: “Col Purohit gets Bail. It was expected as the present BJP Govt is protecting all the accused connected with RSS in all Bomb Blast cases.”
“NIA Chief has been given two extensions to ensure their acquittal. He may now be further rewarded for a suitable post retirement position,” he added in another tweet.
A bench of Justices RK Agrawal and AM Sapre of the Supreme Court granted bail to Purohit on Monday, saying they were setting aside the Bombay High Court order by which the bail was denied.
The apex court said it has imposed certain conditions on Purohit while granting bail.
On August 17, Purohit had told the apex court that he had been caught in the “political crossfire” and languishing in jail for nine years.
Seven people were killed in a bomb blast on September 29, 2008, at Malegaon, a communally-sensitive textile town in Nasik district of north Maharashtra.
A special MCOCA court had earlier ruled that the ATS had wrongly applied this law against Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Purohit and nine others.
