Within days after a suspended police officer went to town alleging that two of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case were killed in the custody of Maharashtra's Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), the family members of Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra demanded an inquiry into the mysterious disappearance of the two accused.
Mahiboob Mujawar, a suspended police Inspector based in Solapur, had last week alleged that Dange and Kalsangra — who had been accused of planting the bombs in Malegaon — were killed by the State ATS officials in 2008 itself and their bodies were disposed off along with the 26/11 terror attack victims.
"On the night of the 26/11 attack, ATS officers shot Kalsangra and Dange at Kala chowkie unit and later took their bodies to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. They were shown as victims of 26/11," Mujawar had alleged.
It may be recalled that an improvised explosive kept under the seat of a Hero Honda motor-bicycle had exploded at Malegaon's Bhikku Chowk, near Noorani Masjid on the night of September 29, 2008, leaving six persons dead and injuring 101 others.
Talking to media persons here, Kalsangra's wife laxmibai -- , who was accompanied by son Devavrat, brother-in-law Shivnarayan and lawyer Prashant Maggu -- urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to order a thorough probe into the incident.
"I am feeling the pain of my husband's disappearance since more than 10 years. Mujawar's revelation is quite shocking. I have a fear that my husband fell prey to a political conspiracy. We are being used for dirty vote bank politics," laxmibai said.
Citing the instance of one witness Dilip Patidar who was killed in the ATS' custody, laxmibai said: "The ATS officers will soon be exposed soon in this case".
Meanwhile, Sandeep Dange's retired professor VK Dange, speaking separately to media persons in Indore, said that Mujawar's allegation about by his son's was a matter of serious concern for him and his family members. "He is my only son and I should know the real status of the case," Sr. Dange said.
Mujawar has come out with the allegation about the custodial deaths of Dange and Kalsangra, in an affidavit that he filed before a Solapur court recently in two cases -- one of disproportionate assets and the other under the
Arms Act.