Malegaon Blast Case: What Retired ATS Officer Mehboob Mujawar Alleged
Mujawar, one of the officers involved in the investigation, alleged that senior ATS officials had directly ordered him to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
In the detailed order issued by the Special NIA Court in Mumbai regarding the 2008 Malegaon blast case, the testimony of retired ATS officer Mehboob Mujawar has revealed serious claims of coercion and internal pressure within the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) during the early phase of the probe.
As per the arguments presented by the lawyer of accused number 10, Mujawar, who had served as an investigating officer in the case, claimed that top ATS officials had clearly directed him to detain and arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. However, Mujawar stated that he refused to obey this “unlawful directive”, as he found no convincing evidence indicating Mohan Bhagwat’s involvement in the alleged offence.
Due to his refusal, Mujawar further alleged that he was falsely framed in a separate case by the ATS, which was later filed before a magistrate in Solapur. To support these assertions, the defence lawyer presented certified copies of the related application and Mujawar’s statement recorded under Section 313 of the CrPC in the Solapur Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court.
The court’s order also discussed corroborative testimonies. During his cross-examination, prosecution witness PW-320, ACP Mohan Kulkarni, denied the claim that Mujawar had been sent to arrest a senior RSS functionary. However, he did acknowledge that Mujawar was indeed dispatched to trace absconding accused AA-1 (Ramji Kalsangra) and AA-2 (Sandeep Dange). Kulkarni also rejected a suggestion that Mujawar had made public remarks about the ATS shooting two individuals—remarks that might have led to his omission from the charge sheet’s witness list.
Adding further context, during the cross-examination of prosecution witness PW-321, DySP Anil Dubey confirmed that he was aware of Mehboob Mujawar’s involvement in the ATS team and that his statement had been recorded by officer Wankhede.
Upon considering all the evidence, the court’s order clearly acknowledged that Mujawar had been part of the ATS investigation team and had worked under the direction of his superior officers. It was also brought to light that he was interrogated regarding the deaths of Ramchandra Kalsangra (AA-1) and Sandeep Dange (AA-2), specifically about the statements he made to the media and press outlets. Importantly, the court noted that despite his role in the investigation and the seriousness of his allegations, Mujawar was neither listed as a witness nor presented in court by either the prosecution or defence during the trial.
