Flagging concern over lawyer Rohini Salian's claim that she was asked to go "soft" on the 2008 Malegaon Blast accused, recently-floated outfit Swaraj Abhiyan today said the episode raises "disturbing questions".
The forum, led by former AAP leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, hailed her for "blowing the lid off", what they claimed, a "diabolical plan to imperil the cause of justice".
"It took a determined prosecutor like Salian, renowned for securing conviction for many of the Dawood gang associates, to bring the Malegaon case to this point. Clearly, her indefatigable work has upset powers that be," the group said in a statement.
The forum alleged that the BJP-led central government was "worried" as the NIA's Special Public Prosecutor in the Malegaon blast seemed to be "over-performing".
"Prashant Bhushan, co-founder of Swaraj Abhiyan, tweeted that this case shows that the 'NDA government protects Hindu terrorists'," the statement added.
Salian, the Special Public Prosecutor in the Malegaon blast case, had earlier this week claimed the investigation agency had asked her to "go soft" on the accused in May last year.
The Malegaon blast on September 29, 2008 killed four persons and injured 79 others. The NIA took over the case in 2011. Twelve persons, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, were arrested in connection with the blast case. Of these, four are on bail.
