ATS constable gave Malegaon blast accused money, reveals RTI

Mumbai, Nov 15: A police constable attached to Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had sent Rs 3,000 in 2008 by money order to an approver-turned-hostile accused, currently lodged in a city jail for his alleged role in the 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts, an RTI query has revealed.

In response to an RTI query filed by Gulzaar Azmi, general secretary (legal cell) of a socio-cultural organisation Jamiat Ulama-E-Maharashtra, it was found that Sadashiv Abhimanyu Patil, a constable attached to Nashik unit of ATS had sent Rs 1,000 thrice to accused Abrar Ahmed through money order in August, September and November 2008 from his residential address at police headquarters in Nashik.

The RTI reply was received from city's Byculla jail on July 5 which gave details of money orders the 34-year-old accused had received between August 2008 and June 2011. "The real face of ATS has been uncovered. The then ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi had falsely implicated Abrar and made him turn an approver saying that they would take care of his family and him and sent him money," Azmi alleged.

Through Patil, the ATS had sent money to Abrar so that he does not turn hostile in future, he claimed. Abrar's brother and lawyer Jalil Ahmed said, "Strict action should be initiated against the constable and higher officials of ATS for such acts. Not only they falsely implicated my brother but also gave him money to turn approver and implicate others."

Ahmed said he started representing his brother since March 2009 following which Abrar decided to reveal the facts as to what had happened on the day and after the blasts. The accused had turned hostile in April 2009.

PTI