Is There a Hidden Truth Behind FairPoint? -- 2006 Lacks Killers, 2008 Paints a Distorted Picture

New Delhi, Aug 3 (NationPress) Two significant judicial cases have shaken the nation. Justice is often said to rely on evidence, and when that evidence is mishandled or fabricated, we arrive at the 2006 Mumbai train blasts verdict by the High Court and the 2008 Malegaon blasts ruling.

Both decisions have been astonishing and reveal how a biased system can alter people's destinies.

While the Supreme Court has put a stay on the 2008 verdict concerning the Mumbai blasts, victims of the 2006 Malegaon blasts are gearing up for further legal battles, leaving a numbing impact on the public consciousness.

What may seem straightforward at first glance can often hide a more intricate reality underneath. We have heard numerous tales of schemes and conspiracies, but this time, the same has come to light through the judicial outcomes. Although the verdicts do not explicitly state it, conclusions can be drawn—these rulings indicate significant systemic failures.

The 2006 Mumbai train blasts tragically claimed the lives of 187 individuals and inflicted injuries on over 800. On July 21, the Bombay High Court acquitted 12 men previously convicted in the case, asserting that the prosecution had "utterly failed" to prove guilt. It annulled the 2015 decision of a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court, which had sentenced five to death and others to life imprisonment.

This raises pressing questions: If the evidence was so flimsy, how did the MCOCA court impose such severe penalties in 2015? If these 12 individuals were innocent, who then executed the deadly blasts? If they were not culpable, why were they apprehended? Such inquiries are being posed, yet answers remain elusive.

These are not mere rhetorical questions— they demand accountability. Shouldn’t the investigators and officials responsible for preparing the case be held liable? Numerous questions and uncertainties linger. Nearly two decades post-blasts that devastated the nation's financial hub, will there be any meaningful follow-up or investigation, or will this case join the ranks of unresolved mysteries, ultimately leading to the narrative that 'no one killed those 187 individuals; they simply perished in explosions attributed to unseen entities'?

If the evidence in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings was mishandled, the 2008 Malegaon case appears to have experienced the opposite. Allegations were made against the police for fabricating evidence, coercing witnesses, and serving as instruments in a broader political scheme, purportedly orchestrated by influential politicians of the time.

The plot was unveiled by none other than Mehboob Mujawar, a former police officer who had served in the Maharashtra ATS.

Mujawar disclosed that he received orders from former IPS officer Parambir Singh and "higher officials" to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, along with directives concerning certain RSS individuals.

He reported being assigned ten operatives, receiving funds from the Service Secret Fund, and facing pressure to execute the arrest orders, which he ultimately resisted. "But I didn’t comply. They spoke of 'saffron terror'. How could I engage in something so fundamentally wrong?" he stated.

He informed the media that he received these orders within 15 to 20 days following the Malegaon blasts, and Mohan Bhagwat was to be implicated to portray it as a saffron terror incident.

After defying the orders, the ex-ATS officer stated that false charges were filed against him in this case, although his name was eventually cleared. The NIA court, however, did not factor in Mujawar's statement during its verdict, "as it was not recorded before this court."

Yet, in its extensive 1,000-page ruling, the court referenced a witness, Milind Joshi Rao, who testified that he was coerced by Maharashtra ATS officials to falsely implicate Yogi Adityanath, RSS member Indresh Kumar, former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Hindu seer and ex-RSS member Swami Aseemanand, and Professor Deodhar in the case. Rao also claimed that the ATS unlawfully detained him for a week, asserting he would only be released if he named the aforementioned five individuals.

These revelations from the ruling provide a chilling perspective on the extent to which the system can be manipulated to fabricate a predetermined narrative—regardless of its authenticity or ramifications.

One of the accused, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, spent nearly nine years in jail before being granted bail in 2017. He was arrested for allegedly orchestrating the blasts, sourcing RDX from Jammu and Kashmir, and assembling it at his residence. The Lieutenant Colonel alleged that the ATS had tortured him and compelled him to name senior BJP and RSS leaders, including Yogi Adityanath.

The Malegaon ruling highlights the alarming potential for political conspiracies to disguise themselves as terror investigations. Ambitious politicians, motivated by vote-bank politics and a thirst for power, may have exploited the judicial system to propagate false narratives—endangering innocent lives in the process.

The 12 individuals implicated in the 2008 Mumbai train blasts, should the Supreme Court vindicate them, alongside the seven acquitted in the Malegaon blast case, serve as pivotal examples of the corrupt relationship between politicians and police.

While certain political factions may leverage the Malegaon verdict for their own gain, the issue transcends mere politics. The nation deserves clarity: Who were the genuine perpetrators? Who constructed the "bhagwa aatankwaad" theory?

Most critically, will those accountable be exposed and penalized to set a precedent?

(Deepika Bhan can be reached at deepika.b@ians.in)