The Unjust Incarceration of LT COL PS PUROHIT – Lt Col CR Sundar

Purohit_295By Lt Col CR Sundar, President, Sainik Samaj Party, Tamil Nadu

          The sad case of Lt Col PS Purohit who has been languishing in Taloja Central Prison being in judicial custody for the past five years and seven months without the due process of trial makes us all hang our heads in shame. As per information available he has been falsely implicated by the Anti Terrorism Squad of the Maharashtra Police in the Malegaon blast of 2008.

          Colonel Purohit is an officer who belongs to the Intelligence Corps of the Indian Army. He has been in the forefront of gathering intelligence regarding anti national activists. To be able to perform his intelligence work better he had been undergoing a one-and-a-half year long course at the Army Education Corps Centre and Training College, Pachmarhi.

          On 29 September 2008 a bomb blast took place in Malegaon. A month later on 24 November Purohit was arrested. He was subjected to third degree treatment with a view to extract a confession about his involvement in the blast. Prior to his arrest one of his associates who was officially involved in intelligent work was also falsely implicated and arrested.

          What is shocking is that since the day of his arrest no charge sheet has been filed against him and he has not been tried. If he is suspected to be a terrorist he should be tried by a fast track terrorist court and sentenced or acquitted. Keeping a person, and that too an army officer, in prison for close to six years, without bail, is totally unacceptable and goes against everything our country stands for.

          The fraternity of army officers has been quiet so long in the belief that law would take its course. But the fact that the case has not made any move forward has caused some unease among the officers and murmurs are being heard in some circles. Write ups on this matter are making their rounds on the internet.

          Col Purohit has written a letter dated 31 May 2014 addressed to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, and others, explaining his pathetic case and the callous disregard of his freedom by the previous Congress government. This letter is now in the public domain and available on the net.

          It should be noted that Purohit had also approached the previous government for relief. But the previous Home Minister was Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde who was apt to demonise Hindus as ‘saffron terrrorist’. Noted thinkers have opined that saffron terrorism is a myth invented by Shinde himself. They have attributed this to his propensity to woo the muslims as part of his vote bank politics. It was but natural that the case could not have moved forward during his tenure.

          Another point that needs to be probed is the matter relating to one Colonel RK Srivastav who is reported to have abducted and held Purohit in illegal custody in 2008. Who is this Colonel, what are his antecedents and what have been his activities since the abduction and arrest of Purohit? A thorough questioning of Srivastav will reveal the truth behind the case.

          The Indian Army has been in the news during the last half a decade for all the wrong reasons. In the loud din created by the media on many a sundry matter the nation did not have the time or the opportunity to look into the fact that one of the officers of the army was suffering for long in jail apparently for no fault of his. Now that a new government is in place the case can be moved forward and hastened to its conclusion.

          Finally it should be made clear to the government that the fight against terrorism does not give the executive any power to violate the personal liberties of any individual no matter which religion he belongs to. Anti-terrorism cannot be an excuse for extra judicialism.

          Not only Purohit but the case of every one held on suspected acts of terrorism in all the jails across India should be looked into and resolved on war footing.
THE UNJUST INCARCERATION OF LT COL PS PUROHIT

By Lt Col CR Sundar, President, Sainik Samaj Party, Tamil Nadu

          The sad case of Lt Col PS Purohit who has been languishing in Taloja Central Prison being in judicial custody for the past five years and seven months without the due process of trial makes us all hang our heads in shame. As per information available he has been falsely implicated by the Anti Terrorism Squad of the Maharashtra Police in the Malegaon blast of 2008.

          Colonel Purohit is an officer who belongs to the Intelligence Corps of the Indian Army. He has been in the forefront of gathering intelligence regarding anti national activists. To be able to perform his intelligence work better he had been undergoing a one-and-a-half year long course at the Army Education Corps Centre and Training College, Pachmarhi.

          On 29 September 2008 a bomb blast took place in Malegaon. A month later on 24 November Purohit was arrested. He was subjected to third degree treatment with a view to extract a confession about his involvement in the blast. Prior to his arrest one of his associates who was officially involved in intelligent work was also falsely implicated and arrested.

          What is shocking is that since the day of his arrest no charge sheet has been filed against him and he has not been tried. If he is suspected to be a terrorist he should be tried by a fast track terrorist court and sentenced or acquitted. Keeping a person, and that too an army officer, in prison for close to six years, without bail, is totally unacceptable and goes against everything our country stands for.

          The fraternity of army officers has been quiet so long in the belief that law would take its course. But the fact that the case has not made any move forward has caused some unease among the officers and murmurs are being heard in some circles. Write ups on this matter are making their rounds on the internet.

          Col Purohit has written a letter dated 31 May 2014 addressed to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, and others, explaining his pathetic case and the callous disregard of his freedom by the previous Congress government. This letter is now in the public domain and available on the net.

          It should be noted that Purohit had also approached the previous government for relief. But the previous Home Minister was Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde who was apt to demonise Hindus as ‘saffron terrrorist’. Noted thinkers have opined that saffron terrorism is a myth invented by Shinde himself. They have attributed this to his propensity to woo the muslims as part of his vote bank politics. It was but natural that the case could not have moved forward during his tenure.

          Another point that needs to be probed is the matter relating to one Colonel RK Srivastav who is reported to have abducted and held Purohit in illegal custody in 2008. Who is this Colonel, what are his antecedents and what have been his activities since the abduction and arrest of Purohit? A thorough questioning of Srivastav will reveal the truth behind the case.

          The Indian Army has been in the news during the last half a decade for all the wrong reasons. In the loud din created by the media on many a sundry matter the nation did not have the time or the opportunity to look into the fact that one of the officers of the army was suffering for long in jail apparently for no fault of his. Now that a new government is in place the case can be moved forward and hastened to its conclusion.

          Finally it should be made clear to the government that the fight against terrorism does not give the executive any power to violate the personal liberties of any individual no matter which religion he belongs to. Anti-terrorism cannot be an excuse for extra judicialism.

          Not only Purohit but the case of every one held on suspected acts ohf terrorism in all the jails across India should be looked into and resolved on war footing.

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