NIA lacks in Malegaon blast investigation, works on signals of BJP: Congress

As the Supreme Court granted bail to Lieutenant Colonel Purohit in connection to the 2008 Malegaon serial blasts case, the Congress Party on Tuesday said that the National Investigative Agency (NIA) has been lacking in the investigation and works on the signals of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Talking to ANI, Congress leader Meem Afzal said, "NIA works on the signals of BJP government. They submitted the report which is contradictory. I was also shocked to see that how Purohit got the bail. The BJP government did the same thing in Gujarat case as well as the party always try to escape their own people."

Meanwhile, another party leader Raju Waghmare said, "If you look into the whole investigation scenario since 2014 when the Modi government came into the power, the NIA has been lacking in the investigation. The witnesses have been hostile and the cases and charges have been dropped on many people. This whole thing is happening in the front of the government."

Yesterday, the Supreme Court set aside the Bombay High Court earlier order and granted bail to Purohit.

Earlier on August 17, the apex court reserved its order on the bail plea of Lieutenant Colonel Purohit.

A senior lawyer, Harish Salve, appearing for Lieutenant Colonel Purohit told the court that he did not want to be discharged from the case at present, but for the interest of justice, wanted an interim bail.

Salve told the apex court that Lieutenant Colonel Purohit was allegedly caught in the political crossfire and was falsely implicated in the case.

Opposing Lieutenant Colonel Purohit 's bail plea, the NIA argued that the Bombay High court order should be upheld by the apex court.

Purohit's bail plea was earlier rejected by the Bombay High Court saying the charges against him were of a grave nature, after which he moved to the top court.

Purohit, a former military intelligence officer, is one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, along with Sadhvi Pragya and others.

The 2008 Malegaon serial blasts claimed four lives and left nearly 79 injured.

-ANI