Malegaon probe: Lt Colonel is from Intelligence, studying Chinese

Lt colonel Prasad Purohit, the serving Army officer being questioned by the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra Police in connection with the Malegaon blasts, belongs to the Intelligence Corps and was posted in Nashik with the Army’s Liaison Unit (ALU). It was there that he first got in touch with Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, the ex-Army officer who is currently in police custody for his alleged role in the blasts.

Sources in Delhi said that Purohit was moved from Nashik last year to take a Chinese language course at the Army Education Corps College in Panchmarhi, Madhya Pradesh, where he is currently posted.

Army Headquarters confirmed that ATS officials met Purohit to “seek clarification from him so as to proceed with further investigations.” “The officer has been called to help the ATS in their investigations as he was in touch with some of the suspects as part of his posting. As a Liaison Unit officer, he was in touch with several people, including ex-servicemen in the region,” a senior Army Officer in New Delhi said.

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Timing, 786 sticker raised red flags: Modasa cop

While the Maharashtra Police attribute the Modasa and Malegaon blasts to the Hindu Jagran Manch, investigators in Gujarat say they had similar suspicions right from Day One.

This is based on two vital clues — an apparent lack of knowledge of the Ramzan prayer schedule that day and the “fresh” nature of the 786 sticker on the motorcycle that carried the bomb, Deputy Superintendent of police K K Mysorewala, who heads the Modasa probe, told The Indian Express today.

The Modasa bomb, timed to go off at 9.26 pm on the night of September 29, was kept on a motorcycle parked a few feet away from a mosque in the crowded Sukka Bazaar area in Modasa, with an intention to cause “maximum damage” as Esha Namaz gets over by this time.

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Bhatkar’s journey: from underworld to terror

In the first clear indication of the links that exist between members of the underworld and terrorist groups, investigating agencies have established Roshan Khan, who is believed to be a co-founder of Indian Mujahideen, is actually Riyaz Bhatkar, a former member of the Fazl-ur-Rehman gang.

“Bhatkar was a former member of the Fazl-ur-Rehman gang and floated the ‘Aryan gang’ that used to operate in Kurla (in Mumbai). He has been involved in Terror activities since he turned radical in 2001,” said a top police officer.

Bhatkar, the police believe, is now hiding out in Pakistan.

Bhatkar’s name had also cropped up during the investigations into the 7/11 and Malegaon blasts. A probe conducted by the Crime Branch and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad had revealed that Mohammad Ali Shaikh (also an accused in the 7/11 case) had allegedly received Rs 1.85 lakh through hawala channels from Bhatkar.

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