MUMBAI: A day after being discharged from hospital, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray came out in defense of alleged Hindu terrorist Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur who is a key accused in the Malegaon blasts.
In a hard-hitting editorial published yesterday in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna, Thackeray slammed the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) officers for allegedly torturing Pragya, both mentally and physically. He also alleged that the ATS officers had attempted to molest her and threatened to eliminate her.
This prompted her to refuse jail food for the past one week. Thackeray said Pragya is so frustrated that she is prepared to die.
"The ATS officers mixed meat and eggs in Pragya's food. It is a planned political conspiracy to eliminate the accused in the prison prior to the Lok Sabha polls to please the Muslim community," Thackeray alleged in the editorial.
Taking pot shots at Maharashtra Home Minister Jayant Patil, the Sena chief said that the "brave and bold" police officers of Patil were forcing Pragya to eat food mixed with insects and contaminated meat and questioned whether such actions were justified.
Thackeray also blasted the Nationalist Congress Party for its statement condemning Malegaon blasts.
