'TOLD I'D BE KILLED IN ENCOUNTER'

Lt Col Prasad Purohit’s written statement alleges Hemant Karkare and Parambir Singh subjected him to torture to reveal details of his intelligence network and list of sources

- CHARUL SHAH JOSHI

Sixteen years after the AntiTerrorism Squad (ATS) arrested Lt Col Prasad Purohit for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, Purohit has reiterated allegations of kidnapping and torture by senior police officials Hemant Karkare and Parambir Singh in his recently submitted written statement before the special court, which is conducting the trial in the case.

Purohit was formally arrested on November 4, 2008. However, he said he was detained six days prior to his arrest and was subjected to severe physical torture by Singh and other subordinate officers of the ATS.

In his written statement, Purohit has said that in the last week of October 2008, he was asked to hand over his mobile phone by Col RK Shrivastav (now retired), the then director of Military Intelligence (MI). A few days later, on October 29, Purohit was asked to move to Delhi to director MI-20, the Directorate of Military Intelligence, at the Army Headquarters.