SHADE OF SAFFRON

The acquittal of all seven accused in the 2006 Malegaon blast case by a special NIA court on July 31 has put the spotlight back on two once-powerful officers.

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As Union home secretary in 2013, R.K. Singh had backed the UPA's claims of right-wing extremist involvement; indeed, Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed says he had coined the term "saffron terror". Ironically, RK later joined the BJP and was a Union minister (2019-24). His defence now is that he was only repeating what the NIA told him. Meanwhile, former ATS officer Mehboob Mujawar has alleged that then ACP Param Bir Singh had ordered the arrest of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in the case. Param Bir, who rose to become Mumbai police commissioner and was later suspended in an extortion case, got a clean chit in 2022 when the Shiv Sena (Shinde)-BJP government revoked his suspension. Guess your fate depends on which side of history you are on.

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