New Delhi – 15 May 2016: The Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) Muhammad Salim Engineer has voiced serious concern over the u-turn taken by the country’s premier investigation agency the NIA, while probing the 2008 Malegaon blasts.

The JIH Secretary General criticized the Central government for damaging the neutrality and independence of the NIA which has suddenly dropped MCOCA charges in the 2008 Malegaon blasts against the prime accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Colonel Purohit and others. He said that: ‘’the dual standard of the government and investigating agencies has been exposed. It is surprising that the NIA has given clean chit to Sadhvi Pragya and team while a large number of Muslim youth, who have been acquitted by various courts after years of trial, could not get that benefit from the NIA’’.

Salim Engineer said that: ‘’It is highly disturbing to know that the new charge-sheet filed by the NIA says the previous investigation conducted by Maharashtra ATS headed by late Hemant Karkare was flawed and that the evidence produced against Colonel Purohit was fabricated and statements of witnesses were taken under duress’’.

During the original probe, the Maharashtra ATS had found explosives at Colonel Purohit’s residence in Deolali, Nasik. It is very upsetting to note that NIA officials now claim that those explosives were deliberately planted at Purohit’s home by the ATS. This allegation by one investigating agency against the other of fabricating evidence exposes them to public ridicule and causes serious damage to the reputation of our investigation agencies undermining their credibility abroad. It also seriously discredits the then ATS chief, Hemant Karkare a Vir Chakra awardee and one who laid down his life trying to conduct an impartial investigation into the Malegaon blasts.

This NIA u-turn thus vindicates the revelation by public prosecutor Rohini Salian made in an interview that she is being pressurized to go soft on 2008 Malaegaon blasts accused. It is a matter of shame that the special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal was not informed about this change in the NIA approach and was kept in the dark till the last moment. If Sadhvi Pragya and team are not involved in the 2008 Malegaon blasts then who are the real terrorists who still remain elusive and roam about scot-free’’.