On Wednesday, the Pune unit of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) conducted a two-and-a-half-hour-long search operation at the residence of main accused in Malegaon blasts case Lt Col Prasad Purohit’s residence off Law College road, but was unable to find any “incriminating evidence.”

The team of 10 people, including two women reached Purohit’s ancestral residence Sussmrutioff Law College Road at 1.30 pm and left at 4 pm. Police Inspector (ATS) Peter Lobo told The Indian Express that “it was a routine search to find any incriminating documents. Nothing was found,” he said.

The ATS officers did a thorough search of all the six rooms of the bungalow. Purohit’s ailing mother Mithila Shrikant Purohit and sister Vasanthi Shrikant Purohit were home at the time of the search operations. A relative who came in later said Purohit’s mother was not doing too well and her health was only deteriorating with these repeated search operations. “They cooperated and let the ATS search the entire house. They seem to have even checked the “kumkum, rangoli and khadisakhar bottles,” she said.

The ATS that checked the entire house did not find any documents or evidence pertaining to the case. “This was where Purohit spent his childhood and college days before he joined the Academy in Chennai. His grandfather B B Purohit built the house in 1962 and the family would always come down for vacation here,” said the relative. The general search included checking all documents or study material as well as objects that would give a lead in the case. The officers said the search was carried out as per the directions of Mumbai ATS. Purohit’s wife Aparna was not at home as she was away at Nashik for the court hearing, she added.