Prasad Shrikant Purohit appears in court after bail

Mumbai: Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit on Thursday appeared before the special NIA court for the first time after securing bail in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case. Though he refused to speak to the media, his wife told reporters that the family would start life afresh.

Purohit resumed duty immediately after his release from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai. But, he also applied for a leave of 15 days, which was accepted by the army. Purohit’s lawyer Shrikant Shivde said that the leave has been granted.

Purohit’s wife Aparna told reporters that she does not have words to express her delight over her husband’s release from jail. She said they would start afresh as a family.

Reacting on the question of allowing her sons to join the army after what the family has gone through after her husband’s arrest, she said, “It is a matter of fate.” She also said that it is always a matter of pride to serve the country in any possible way.

Though Purohit has resumed duty, he would not get any promotion till the court acquits him from all the charges. However, he is entitled to get his salary.

Currently, the NIA court is hearing discharge applications filed by Dayanand Pandey alias Shankaracharya and Sameer Kulkarni. In the meantime the court is expected to frame charges on accused and commence trial in the case.

Pandey in his discharge plea has contended that his name is not Pandey and his arrest is a case of mistaken identity. He has also argued that there is no evidence against him. Though the court has already rejected his application in which he had claimed his name should not be written as Dayanand Pandey in any court document because it is not his name.