Lt. Col Purohit may face court martial

Lt. Col Purohit may face court martial
Press Trust of India

Malegaon blast accused Lt Col Prasad Srikant Purohit is likely to face court martial that could lead to his dismissal from service with an Army probe recommending disciplinary action against him.

The Army headquarters has received a report of the Court of Inquiry which went into Purohit's alleged role in the
September 2008 Malegaon blast that claimed six lives, army sources said today.

The CoI has recommended disciplinary action against him, they said. This is likely to lead to his court martial and
possibly dismissal subsequently.

"The recommendations of the inquiry are being considered by the Adjutant General branch for deciding the course of
action to be initiated against Col Purohit," they said.

Purohit, who was arrested by the Anti-Terror Squad of the Mumbai Police, is currently imprisoned in Nasik in connection with the Malegaon blast.

The Army officer, who was in the military intelligence, was arrested by the ATS in November 2008 on suspicion of
masterminding the Malegaon blast along with other accused Sadhvi Prayag Thakur and four others.

Purohit is the first serving Indian army officer accused of playing a major role in planning and executing a terror
blast. He was posted at Panchmarhi where he was studying Chinese at a military training institute when his arrest took
place.

The ATS had also arrested retired Army officer Major Ramesh Upadhyay, who along with Thakur, was said to be a
member of the Abhinav Bharat, a Hindu outfit.

Purohit had come in contact with Upadhyay when he was posted at Nashik in the Army's liaison unit.