MUMBAI: The chemical analysis expert who had examined the motorcycle that was allegedly owned by BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and was used in the September 2008 Malegaon blast told the special NIA court here that, in his observation, the explosive material was placed below the seat of the two-wheeler.
The expert had last month recorded his testimony as a witness in the case before special National Investigation Agency Judge AK Lahoti, the details of which were made available recently.
Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur is one of the accused in the blast case, in which six persons were killed and 90 were injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon on September 29, 2008.
While replying to a question of one of the defence lawyers, the witness said it was not correct to say he carried out the analysis with a prejudiced mind and at the instance of police.
He also denied the analysis was not conducted properly.
"It was my observation that explosive material was put below the seat of the LML bike (allegedly belonging to Thakur)," the witness said, adding that he did not find any cavity below the seat of the two-wheeler.
During his examination-in-chief by the special public prosecutor, the witness had said he had found the vehicle in seriously damaged condition when he reached the spot after the incident.
"I observed the fuel tank of the bike had blown off. It was lying some feet away from the spot. The seat cover and dickey (motorcycle's side box) was blown off. Its spare parts were scattered around the spot. The fuel that was coming out of the motorcycle was lying around the spot," he said.
Only the front plastic portion of the two-wheeler was intact, and just the front number plate was visible, he said, adding that he also found another two-wheeler that was not damaged to a great extent, but had holes in the fuel tank and some parts of the body.
He also observed there was one bicycle lying between the two motorcycles.
The witness further said there was a cycle store in the vicinity and found three cycles lying in damaged condition with some blood beneath them, while another cycle also was found in the area.
More than 260 witnesses have been examined in the case until now, of which 25 have turned hostile.
Apart from Thakur, the other accused in the case include Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, Sudhakar Diwedi, Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni, all of whom are out on bail.