New Delhi, Oct. 30: The army today said it had sent to Mumbai an officer wanted for questioning by the Maharashtra police over his alleged association with a suspect in last month’s Malegaon blast.
However, the army itself is waiting for more evidence from the police before dubbing the officer, a lieutenant colonel, a suspect and taking action against him.
The phone number of the officer, who was going through a foreign language course in the Army Education Corps’ college in Panchmarhi, was allegedly found on the mobile of retired army major Ramesh Upadhyay. Maharashtra police’s anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had arrested Upadhyay in the blast case on Tuesday.
“In the course of investigations by the Maharashtra police in the Malegaon blasts, some inputs of possible linkages of a serving army officer with other suspects have come to light,” the army said in an official statement.
“Accordingly, the police have at this stage sought to interact with the concerned officer and seek clarifications from him so as to proceed with further investigations.”
The officer’s name is being withheld because, an army headquarters source said, “We are not treating him as a suspect; neither can we say that he is being interrogated.”
The army, so far, is only aiding in “clarifications”. The officer has not been detained, nor is he under arrest.
Defence ministry sources in New Delhi said the police were empowered to act against an army officer based on the nature of the crime he was alleged to have committed and inform his superiors subsequently. The sources said this after the Maharashtra police said they had sought defence ministry permission through the Union home ministry to arrest the officer.
“While no formal application has been received from the police authorities, Army Headquarters has decided to extend full co-operation and facilitate interaction with the officer with the concerned investigating officials of the police,” the army statement said. The officer was moved to Mumbai to “facilitate” the interaction.
If the police find evidence of the lieutenant colonel’s involvement and pass it on to the army, the army will take action.
Sources in Bhopal said the Maharashtra ATS reached Panchmarhi this morning after raiding the lieutenant colonel’s residence in Jabalpur. They said the officer was likely to be produced before a court in Nashik.
The lieutenant colonel and some of his friends were allegedly involved in training young men who had taken up the “Hindu cause”, the sources added.
The lieutenant colonel possibly came in touch with Upadhyay — who is now working president of a pro-Hindutva group, Abhinav Bharat —long before joining the army, the Bhopal sources said.
They added that the ATS has raided the home of Mayaram Jaswani, vice-president of Abhinav Bharat, in Jabalpur.
