Karkare said, "despite media reports and his (Purohit's) relatives saying he was ill treated he told the court that there was no such thing."

Dayanand Pandey had also said he was ill treated but the court did not see any marks and medical reports also found the allegations to be incorrect, Karkare said.

Pandey, when produced in a Nashik court on November 14, had alleged he had been physically tortured by the ATS after being arrested. He was taken to the magistrate's chambers where he was examined but no marks of torture were found, he said.

"In this case, like all cases, we adhere to methods prescribed under the CrPC and we use witness statements, technical evidence and interrogation," Karkare said.

PM Manmohan Singh dials Advani

New Delhi, November 20:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up BJP leader L K Advani and raised the issue of his allegations about torture of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, one of the prime accused in the Malegaon blast case, in connection with the ongoing ATS probe.

During the telephonic conversation on Wednesday, the Prime Minister is understood to have told the Leader of the Opposition that the BJP charges are being looked into by appropriate authorities and that he will get back after ascertaining the facts. The BJP had also raised questions on the neutrality of Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

Advani is also understood to have raised the issue of affidavit filed in a Nashik court by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in which she alleging she is being tortured by ATS personnel which he described as ‘barbaric treatment’.

... contd.