Malegaon 2008 blast: Don't need police custody for Lt Col Purohit, says NIA

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) sought the apex court's direction that the agency does not want police custody for Malegaon 2008 blast accused Lieutenant Colonel Purohit.

Last month, the NIA denied any procedural flaw in arresting Purohit and conveyed to the Bombay High Court that there is prima facie evidence against him in the blast case. Lieutenant Colonel Purohit, who is one of the main accused in the Samjhauta and Malegaon blasts cases, is presently in jail for over seven years.

He had also written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on April 4 last year requesting restoration of his honour.

In his letter, he claimed he was falsely implicated and has been behind the bars for more than seven years now. The case pertains to a criminal conspiracy, which resulted in bomb blasts in the Samjhauta Express train near Panipat in Haryana on February 18, 2007. The blast and the consequent fire in the train resulted in the loss of 68 lives and injuries to 12 train passengers, including women and children, travelling in the train.