Malegaon case: Mumbai ATS interrogating 3 army men

The Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad is interrogating a junior commissioned officer and two jawans of the Indian Army in connection with the Malegaon blast case, defence sources have said.

After arresting Lieutenant Colonel Srikant Prasad Purohit in connection with Malegaon blasts, the Maharashtra ATS interrogated three more army personnel in connection with the case in Mumbai on Monday.

"Three of our personnel below the officer rank were interrogated by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with the September 29 blasts in Mumbai," army sources said in New Delhi.

The personnel interrogated include one Junior Commissioned Officer and two jawans, the sources said adding all the three have served with Purohit at one time or the other in the army and in Military Intelligence. The interrogation was done in Mumbai cantonment in the presence of Army officials, sources said.

Purohit, arrested in early November by the ATS, is the first army officer to have been apprehended for his alleged involvement in a terror case. A couple of retired officers, including Major Ramesh Upadhayay, have also been arrested by the ATS in the case.

The sources said there was no formal request from ATS to interrogate with the trio but "we are cooperating on our own with the ATS in the case as we want the truth to come out". The ATS, the sources said, has not levelled any charges against these men. "Our men have not been arrested and the ATS has not levelled any charges against them for their involvement in the blasts and the interrogation is part of ATS' investigations in to the case," they said.