Malegaon Probe Was Politicised, Ex-ATS Cop Alleges Pressure to Arrest RSS Chief to Bolster ‘Saffron Terror’ Plot

A retired officer of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has alleged that he was pressured to arrest Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat during the early stages of the investigation into the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The officer, Mehiboob Mujawar, claimed the investigation was politically steered to project a narrative of “Bhagwa atankwad” or ko under the then UPA-led government.

His comments come in the wake of the recent acquittal of all seven accused in the case, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, by a special NIA court. The court held that the prosecution failed to prove charges against the accused.

Mujawar, who was part of the original probe team led by Hemant Karkare, said that during the investigation he was given a list of names that included Ramji Kalsangra, Sandeep Dange, Dilip Patidar and Mohan Bhagwat. The first three were declared absconding during the probe. Mujawar claimed that along with these names, he was directed to act against Bhagwat as well.

He said he refused to comply with the order to arrest the RSS chief. According to him, he saw no legal basis for such an arrest and was not willing to carry out what he believed was an improper directions. He said this refusal had consequences. Not long after, he was booked in an extortion case, which he described as false and retaliatory, and he alleged that this was a direct result of his non-compliance. He said his police service, which spanned four decades, was derailed as a result.

Mujawar stated that in light of the court’s recent decision acquitting the accused, it is now evident that the investigation was manipulated. He said there was no such thing as saffron terrorism and that the case was built on fabricated premises.

Efforts to reach senior officials from the 2008 ATS team and the Maharashtra Home Department of that time yielded no response. Messages and calls made by this reporter to key figures from the period remained unanswered.

On September 29, 2008, three low-intensity bombs exploded in the communally sensitive town of Malegaon in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, killing six persons and injuring over a hundred. Initial suspicion had fallen on extremist Islamist groups, but the direction of the investigation shifted after the ATS traced one of the motorcycles used in the blasts to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.

This led to a series of arrests involving right-wing activists with links to Abhinav Bharat, a Hindutva organisation. Lt Col Purohit’s arrest marked a significant moment, as he was a serving Army officer. The case sparked sharp political exchanges, with the Congress-led UPA invoking the term “saffron terror” to describe the alleged involvement of Hindu nationalist groups in terror activities, a term that the BJP and the RSS strongly rejected as politically motivated.

Mujawar, who retired in 2020, said he decided to go public now because he felt a truthful account of what transpired during the early investigation needed to be placed on record.