Maharashtra ATS to question Muthalik

A three member team of the Mumbai Anti Terrorist Squad arrived in Mangalore to interrogate Shri Ram Sena founder Pramod Muthalik in connection with the Malegaon blast case. The ATS is in Mangalore to interrogate Muthalik who was sent to a day's police custody.

Muthalik who was arrested for his alleged role in the Mangalore pub incident was produced before the court following which the Mangalore police sought for police custody. The ATS submitted that they needed to interrogate him and find about more about the Mangalore incident.

The court while granting permission to interrogate Muthalik in police custody ordered that the same be done in the presence of a lawyer. The court further observed that the police custody shall end by 1700hrs on Saturday.

Sources told rediff.com that the ATS is likely to question Muthalik on Saturday for a couple of hours after the Mangalore police finishes interrogating him.

Muthalik already finds a mention in the chargesheet of the Malegaon case. While preparing the chargesheet, the ATS had relied heavily on the statements of Lieutenant Colonel Purohit who had claimed to know Muthalik. Purohit had also praised Muthalik and said that this man works with a lot of dedication. Muthalik following the Malegaon blasts had also made a speech in Udupi where while praising the Malegaon attack he had stated that it was just a trailer. He had also termed Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur as a reveloutinary.

Apart from this the ATS will also try and find clues regarding Pravin Muthalik, one of the three men who allegedly planted the bomb at Malegaon. Initially it was stated that Pravin was Pramod's brother but the former's camp vehemently denied this fact. The ATS believes that Pravin is hiding in Karnataka.