2008 Malegaon blast trial: Key witness declared hostile, 29th so far

Mumbai: A witness was on Tuesday declared hostile in the 2008 Malegaon blast trial - the 29th witness to be declared so among the 280 plus prosecution witnesses who have now deposed before the court.

The witness had served with Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit in military intelligence in Deolali, Nashik unit. His statement recorded in Dec 2008 by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) contained mentions of accused Sudhakar Chaturvedi. The statement said that he knew Chaturvedi and knew where he stayed on rent in Nashik and that Chaturvedi would frequently visit Purohit when he was working as a military intelligence officer. Purohit would ask him to call for Chaturvedi from his residence, the statement had said.

His earlier statement mentioned Chaturvedi

His earlier statement also mentioned the visit to the camp’s office in the first week of September 2008, of a person whom he described by appearance. He had said the person ate with them for three days at the camp. On Tuesday, he said he knew Purohit and Chaturvedi - the latter, too, due to professional reasons. He denied knowledge of the part of the statement concerning the person who had visited the camp in the first week of Sep 2008.

The blast on September 29, 2008 in Malegaon, Nashik had claimed six lives and over 100 persons were injured.