Anti-Terrorism Squad says no evidence against Abhinav Bharat chief, but has listed her as a witness in the case
Anti-Terrorism Squad says no evidence against Abhinav Bharat chief, but has listed her as a witness in the case
While the ATS has filed a 4,528-page chargesheet in the September 29 Malegaon blast case, which includes 452 witnesses, it has found no evidence to pin Abhinav Bharat chief Himani Savarkar (62), as an accused in the case. Instead, she has been made a witness in the case against the arrested accused.
According to the ATS, Himani had attended several meetings with the accused, but was not part of the blasts conspiracy. ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi said, "Himani Savarkar is a witness in the case. She was present in the meetings, but was not a part of the blast conspiracy. The accused have been arrested, and the chargesheet is prepared on the basis of the evidence gathered."
He added, "There was no evidence of her taking part in the blast or the conspiracy." However, Himani, who confesses to being part of the meetings, is not aware that she has been made a witness in the case. Himani said, "I was the part of the meetings held in April 2008, in Bhopal, where members of Abinav Bharat were present."u00a0 She also agreed to have met Dayanand Pandey alias Sudhakar Dwivedi, Pragya Singh Thakur, and the other accused in the Malegaon blast case.
She added, "I had gone to attend a function of Abhinav Bharat, and there were talks about Hindutva. But there were no talks about any blast."
She denied having met Lt Col Shrikant Purohit at the meeting. "I don't even know that I am a witness in the case. Also Purohit was not present in any of the meetings. The police have made a false case," she said.
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However, according to the charge sheet and the statements of other witnesses, Himani was present in the meeting when they discussed the Malegaon blasts. It also adds that Purohit propagated setting up a Hindu Rashtra, and exacting revenge against Muslim terrorists.
According to Himani's statement in the chargesheet, she walked out of the meeting, as she was opposed to violent methods.
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