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Rediff.com  » News » Sadhvi feared scooter being traced to her, says witness

Sadhvi feared scooter being traced to her, says witness

Source: PTI
January 23, 2009 18:39 IST
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Malegaon blast prime accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur had met absconding accused Ramji Kalsangra two days before her arrest and expressed apprehension over the police tracing the scooter used in the explosion to her, according to a witness statement.

Sadhvi had met Ramji in Ujjain on October 8, 2008 and voiced concern over how the police came to know that the scooter used in the blast was registered in her name even though they had destroyed all evidence regarding it, the witness said in a statement.

Since her arrest on October 10, Sadhvi has been maintaining that she had sold the scooter to one Sunil Joshi in October 2004 for Rs 24,000 and that after that she had no control over the scooter or its movements and usage.

However, the statement of the witness recorded by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad said that Sadhvi was in touch with Ramji till October 8 last year.

She had met Ramji in a dharmashala in Ujjain where she told him that she has been summoned to Surat by the police to question her in connection with the Malegaon blast, the witness, who claims to have been present when the conversation took place between the two, said in the statement.

"I will tell the police that I had sold the scooter to someone and I do not remember whom it was sold to," Sadhvi had told Ramji.

Ramji had then said that he could not understand how police was able to track them down, as he had  already removed the scooter's number plate, engine number and other essential details.

"How many persons were killed in the blast we carried out with my scooter?" Sadhvi asked Ramji to which he replied, "I tried to park it in a densely populated area but could not, so I had to park it elsewhere. The blast killed very few people."

Ramji further told Sadhvi, "If the police interrogation goes out of hand then would you reveal my name to the police, as we had carried out the blasts."

To this, Sadhvi said that she would not reveal anything to the police and that she has spoken to some people who had assured her that they would launch an agitation against the police if she was arrested.

"On October 8 evening, Sadhvi went to Surat from Ujjain. On October 10, 11 and 12 Ramji used to call me daily asking if I had any news regarding Sadhvi and her arrest in the Malegaon blast case to which I replied in the negative," the witness has stated.

The witness further said that after that Ramji never called or met him.

"Before October 2008, Ramji had come to meet me once with a LML scooter which he said was given to him by Sadhvi," the witness added.

The witness statement is part of the over 4,000 page chargesheet filed by the ATS against the 11 arrested accused in the September 29 Malegaon blast that killed six persons and injured over 70 others.           

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