Malegaon accused were killed at ATS office in Mumbai, alleges suspended cop

Cop Mehboob Mujawar alleges the two accused were killed on November 27 at the ATS office in Kalachowki and their bodies were dumped at CST amid those of 26/11 victims

Eight people were killed in the blast near Bhikku chowk in Malegaon on September 29, 2008

After revealing how Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange — key accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case — were killed in a fake encounter, suspended senior ATS inspector Mehmood Mujawar has alleged that the decision of eliminating the duo was taken after the then ATS chief Hemant Karkare was killed by terrorists in the 26/11 blasts. Mujawar has also claimed that after the duo's murder, their bodies were brought to CST on November 27 and kept amid those of the blast victims.

The senior cop revealed this to social activist Neeraj Gunde, who advised him to bring this to the notice of the court or investigating agencies. Speaking to mid-day, Gunde said Mujawar told him that the decision to kill Kalsangara and Dange was taken after terrorists killed Karkare during the 26/11 attacks. Six policemen killed the two at the Kalachowki ATS office between 1 am and 4 am on November 27, Mujawar alleged. After that, their bodies were taken in an ATS vehicle to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and thrown at the spot where victims of the November 26 attack lay.

ATS vehicle dumped bodies
Gunde further said, "To check Mujawar's claims, I made enquiries and found that there were two unclaimed bodies at CST and their faces matched with Kalsangara and Dange. I also checked video footage with TV channels and found the same white ATS vehicle in CST that Mujawar had mentioned. There was a discussion about this vehicle's unexpected movement at the site on the police wireless system that night and I checked the same with cops." Gunde had in November and December this year tweeted the deceased accused's pictures along with those of the two unclaimed bodies at CST to the PMO and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis under the Twitter handle @365newsin.

Activist Neeraj Gunder tweeted the photos of the two wanted accused Ramachandran Kalsangra (right), Sandeep Dange (left), and the unclaimed bodies that were retrieved at CST after the 26/11 attacks

Member of the kill squad
Mujawar has also claimed that he witnessed the killing of the accused in ATS custody and has enough concrete evidence to back it. He says he was among the team members tasked by senior officials to eliminate Kalsangara and Dange. Mujawar has even alleged that two retired IPS officers and a senior serving IPS officer are behind the killings.

However, in his August affidavit in a Solapur court, he only mentioned the murder Kalsangara and Dange, but did not reveal any details or the people involved in it. Gunde said that the revelations and allegations made by Mujawar are serious and it should be investigated thoroughly. "If he is claiming he has all the evidence to back his claims, then his statement should be recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure."

Inputs by Sailee Dhayalkar

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