If the culprits of Malegaon are treated with kid gloves under the theory that violence from Hindu fold is retaliatory, it will be the travesty of justice of the worst order, avers RAM PUNIYANI.
Eleven suspects of Malegaon blast, September 9, 2008, got a breather (August 01, 2009) when the special court dropped the charges under MCOCA against them. Prosecution failed to show that all the accused were members of a single organised crime syndicate. The MCOCA also requires that there should be two previous charge sheets against at least one of them. Since the case prepared by police could not prove it, the charges have been dropped. The ATS and Chief Minister of Maharashtra have stated that they will go to the higher courts against the order of this court decision. In the past Congress did not undertake any serious effort to punish the guilty, so this statement of the authorities has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
MCOCA apart, the overall scenario and line of investigation followed by police has left a lot of ground uncovered which can come handy for the culprits getting away lightly if the police does not do its homework well. There may also be deeper political dimensions to the issue as well. The first point which struck the observers so far was that for a long time the police line of investigation in the blast cases was based on the premise that some Muslim group is involved in the crime. This created two problems. One was that the innocents kept getting arrested and tortured. And the other that the real culprits could hide under the cover provided by the popular perception about terrorism. The vicious cycle was broken by Hemant Karakre with the impeccable evidence in the form of the motorcycle of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from the crowded lane of Malegaon. Her link led to several people and many organisations. The people involved were Swami Dayanand Pandey, Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit, Ajay Rahirar, retired Major Ramesh Upadhayay, Rakesh Dhavade and many others. The connections with Abhinav Bharat, Hindu Jagran Samiti, Army units, Bhonsala Military School (Nagpur and Nashik), Akanksha Resort Sinhgad all emerged and the picture of a broad conspiracy became clear.
The investigating officer, Hemant Karkare, about whose death in 26/11 terror attack, Antulay raised certain questions, faced immense pressure due to criticism from Hindu right wingers. Thackeray’s paper Saamana went on to say that they spit on the face of such an anti-national person like Karkare, and some others also called him a Deshdrohi. One does not know what direct/indirect impact all this had on the future drafting of the charge sheet. Human Rights activist Teesta Setalvad in her articles in Communalism Combat (February, 2009) raised several questions about the charge sheet, which remain unanswered.
One recalls that the Nanded blast (April 2006) case investigation itself was very much muted and it was only the pressure of campaign from Rights activists that the investigation was pursued. Rakesh Dhawade, one of the accused in the Malegaon charge sheet had confessed to his involvement in the training of few youth, for the preparation and detonation of bombs. The training was done near the Sinhgad Fort, Pune, in July-August 2003. Despite this he was allowed to be discharged from the Purbea Masjid blast case on July 27, 2009! ATS says it was because the local police did not file a strong enough charge sheet! One does not know whether it is a lack of coordination or there is something deeper to this?
It is beyond one’s comprehension as to why Section 125, waging a war against the Indian Nation, has not been applied to these accused. In this case the involvement of the serving military officers and the retired ones has not been probed. It has ramifications far deeper than what meets the eyes. These military officers had the background of Bhonsala Military School, which is practically controlled by RSS. The RSS has its wing for retired military personnel and exerts a lot of emphasis on cultivating connections with men in uniform. The theft of 60 kilograms of RDX by Purohit is a pointer of what the serving and military officers can do once they are ideologically indoctrinated by the notions other than that of secular democratic India. Purohit in his narco analysis on November 9, 2008 revealed his role in Samjhauta Express and Makka Masjid blasts.
There are multiple aspects of the case involved. One does not support MCOCA at all, it is not only arbitrary and draconian; but also a refuge for police not to undertake the trouble for deeper investigation and doing its homework properly. Even if one does not trust the narco analysis, there are enough other evidences to link up all these accused indoctrinated by RSS ideology. The point is why so many links which are there for all to see are not being followed? Why resort to the shortcut of MCOCA, or narco analysis.
The core point is the biases of the state apparatus, those of political, bureaucratic and police in particular, which have resulted in evolution of two sets of justice delivery systems. One is for the affluent and privileged which can get away with whatever they want and the other is for the weaker sections, including minorities. Here right from the police investigation to the charge sheeting, the political influence and biases which influence the process of justice delivery (or the lack of it) and the final verdict all are having a tinge of bias.
The politicians-police nexus does determine the whole process. It is these outcomes which make a section of population feel that they are used merely as vote banks and when the time of justice comes they are not considered at all. If the culprits of Malegaon are treated with kid gloves under the theory that violence from Hindu fold is retaliatory, it will be the travesty of justice of the worst order.