Army to sack Purohit,but there’s no proof he sourced explosives

There will be no need for a formal court martial. The final decision will be taken by the Defence Ministry,which will have to forward the matter to the President.

However,no proof has been found to substantiate allegations that the officer sourced the RDX used in the blasts from Army stocks in Jammu and Kashmir. A thorough check of all Army units with which Purohit was even remotely connected has revealed no evidence of missing ammunition or explosives,sources said.

The sources added that investigations have also concluded that Purohit,currently facing trial in a civilian court,was not in a position to get hold of explosives seized during military operations in J&K. Purohit has been found blameworthy on other,less serious grounds. These include a charge that he purchased a bullet-proof jacket for himself without the required permissions. Another charge pertains to his purchase of an unauthorized debugging device with his own money.

The Army court of inquiry was instituted months after Purohit’s arrest,and continued for over a year. There were interactions with the officer and several meetings with the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad. Several officers in the chain of command who were in touch with Purohit were questioned.

Purohit,who joined the Army in 1994 in the Military Intelligence branch,was posted at the Southern Command HQ in Pune where he allegedly came in contact with right wing Hindu organisation Abhinav Bharat. Several other members of the organisation,including Sadhvi Pragya Thakur,were arrested by the ATS for their alleged involvement in the Malegaon blasts,that were seen as retaliation to terror attacks carried out by radical Islamists.