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new government assumed power, NIA told me to go soft in Malegaon blast case, prosecutor says

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Legal experts voice concern over pressure on prosecutor in Malegaon blast case

Hindutva terror cases: NIA split on whether proof can nail extremists

NEW DELHI: NIA on Thursday denied allegations made by its special public prosecutor (PP) Rohini Salian that it tried to put any undue pressure on her to either go soft in the 2008 Malegaon case or having passed any “inappropriate” instructions to her through any of its officers. It also said that Salian was about to be removed as PP for failing to perform and that the process of her “de-notification” was underway when she went public with her accusations against the agency.Rebutting the charge that it pressured Salian into going soft on the Malegaon case, the agency said that the question of influencing Salian does not arise as special PP’s role comes only after a case is committed to trial. Routine affairs are handled by regular public prosecutors and the 2008 Malegaon case has as yet not reached the trial stage, said the agency.Senior NIA officers suggested that Salian had been leveling such charges since she was being de-notified as special PP.In a new twist to the controversy which can potentially trigger accusations of Modi government being sympathetic to Hindutva hardliners accused in the case, Salian told a news agency on Thursday that she had raised a dispute with NIA over her remuneration. She alleged that NIA, which had agreed to pay her a certain amount when she was hired in 2010, suddenly downgraded her remuneration to the level of CBI prosecutors.NIA sources said that the matter is two years old, dating to UPA regime when Salian registered her protest. Sources said NIA had argued that the remuneration agreed to in 2010 was with regard to a fake currency case for which Salian was hired. It did not apply to the Malegaon 2008 case. “We still wrote to home ministry recommending higher pay for Salian as agreed to in 2010,” said an NIA officer.The NIA statement suggests that Salian’s impending de-notification was routine as two more special PPs were recommended for de-notification along with her.According to NIA, as per laid down procedures a committee under NIA DG Sharad Kumar—with attendance from joint secretary Shailesh from home ministry’s Police II division and legal advisor of NIA—held a meeting on January 12, 2015 with regard to empanelment of new special PPs. The meeting decided on 33 new special PPs whose appointment was later notified by MHA on May 25. This included five special PPs for Maharashtra.The meeting also decided that “the performance, suitability and availability of the special PPs who are in the panels for five years or more or who are in the last quarter of completing five years, will be assessed and, if need be, recommendations be made for de-notifying them. In compliance of the decision of the designated committee, heads of NIA branches were asked to send their recommendations for de-notification,” the NIA statement says.Hindutva terror cases: Securing conviction will enhance NIA credibilityIn response, NIA’s Mumbai branch wrote to the headquarters on June 16, recommending de-notification of three special PPs including Salian (who completes five years on August 31) “in view of many special PPs already available for representing the branch.” NIA says the matter is under process.Two other special PPs recommended for de-notification include S B Faria and N P Mehta. Two more special PPs—Orlando Miranda and Trikamlal Chauhan—who had been representing the agency for the past three years were retained by NIA.Salian has alleged that on June 12 an NIA officer had approached her saying that higher-ups did not want her to represent the case.The NIA statement counters the attempted influence charge saying, “The mainstream work of special PP starts only after the investigating agency files charge-sheet in a trial court …The Malegaon blast case 2008, mentioned by Ms Rohini Salian …has not yet reached the trial stage. Therefore, it is incorrect to infer that Ms Salian was being bypassed for court appearances.”It also said, “NIA completely denies the issuance of inappropriate briefing by any officer of the agency to the special PP or creating impediments in her prosecution work of NIA cases she has been handling.”