Tortured to name RSS, VHP leaders'

Prasad Purohit made startling revelation’ in his sintement submitted before special court

Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, has claimed that he was tortured to own up his role in the blast and name senior rightwing leaders of the RSS and VHP, including Yogi Adityanath, who was then an MP from Uttar Pradesh.

Purohit made the 'revelation' in his statement submitted before the special court on Tuesday.

The court has been recording the statement of all the accused, who are being prosecuted for their alleged roles in the blast. It has finished recording the statements of Purohit and some other accused as against the evidence presented by the prosecution.

At the end of the process, the court asked Purohit if he had to make any submissions, that's when his lawyer Viral Babar submitted a 23-pagelong written statement.