Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur told the special Mcoca court that the Anti-Terrorism Squad had forced her to listen to an “obscene CD” and had even threatened to parade her naked.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur told the special Mcoca court on Tuesday that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had forced her to listen to an “obscene CD” and had even threatened to parade her naked.
Other accused in the Malegaon blasts case also alleged that the ATS had been torturing them. Special public prosecutor Rohini Salian, however, dismissed all allegations as an “afterthought”.
Thakur said in court,“The ATS threatened to strip me naked and hang me upside down. They questioned me in the night, using the filthiest possible language. There were times when I was beaten up so badly, that my hands turned black.”
In chaste Hindi she added, “I am a sanyasi. I give discourses on Ramayana and Mahabharata. They told me they wanted to burn copies of the holy texts. They made me hear an obscene CD.”
Lt Col Prasad Purohit said that he was interrogated for eight days — from October 29 to November 5 — by ATS officers and one Colonel Shrivastava from MI9 in Khandala. After November 6, the Pune ATS allegedly started torturing him. Purohit added that he feared that the ATS “would plant RDX” in his homes in Pune and Panchmarhi and kill him in encounter.
Pointing fingers at investigating officer Mohan Kulkarni, Purohit said, “This officer and Shrivastava said that I am not a son of my father. They said that they would parade my wife naked and ensure she is raped.”
Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyaya, a heart patient, said, “I was brought before DGP AN Roy on October 28. He told me that he didn’t doubt my patriotism, but if I don’t confess before the ATS, they would pulverise me.”
In a choked voice, he added, “DIG Sukhvinder Singh said that my mother must have slept with all men in my village. He said that my daughter Nidhi would be paraded naked and raped. He also threatened to plant narcotics on my son and get him jailed for 20 years.”
The others — Ajay Rahirkar, Shivnarayan Kalsanghra and Shyam Sahu — also alleged torture by the ATS.
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