In a significant development, Sameer Kulkarni, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, filed a plea on Monday before a special court requesting action against a former Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer. The plea was based on the testimonies of two serving army personnel and the supplementary chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2016, which alleges that the ATS falsely implicated several accused individuals.
Kulkarni alleged that officer Shekhar Bagde had misused his position to commit serious offenses. He highlighted the evidence provided by the two army personnel in his application, emphasizing the need for the court to take cognizance of the testimonies and supplementary chargesheet. The plea sought an immediate inquiry into the officer's actions.
The NIA's supplementary chargesheet had cleared accused Pragya Thakur of involvement in the blast. It also revealed that two army officers had testified about suspiciously finding officer Bagde at the residence of accused Sudhakar Chaturvedi when Chaturvedi was not present. Later, traces of RDX were discovered at Chaturvedi's home. The NIA expressed doubt over the recovery of the RDX and suggested that the ATS may have "planted" the traces to implicate Chaturvedi and other accused individuals.
