In an interview with Rajat Sharma on Aap Ki Adalat, Sadhvi Pragya, accused in the Malegaon Blast Case who was released on bail last year, has spoken about the manner in which she was tortured and abused by officials.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjeRngnBnRM]
“I was brutally beaten by male officers with a broad expeller belt, day and night for 24 days in custody. My arms and legs were swollen, which were then immersed in salty warm water, and the beatings resumed,” she said.
“In custody, the officers used to hurl filthy abuses at me and forced me to hear objectionable CDs. They wanted to forcibly extract a confession from me in order to implicate senior RSS leaders,” Sadhvi Pragya said. The Sadhvi also mentioned that she was tortured through sleep deprivation as well which caused her to experience immense psychological trauma as a consequence.
Sadhvi Pragya said that she was not averse to joining politics as well. “Yadi rashtra ki avashyakta hogi, yadi rashtra ka aavhaan hoga, toh zaroor (If the nation wants, and if the nation gives me a call, I will surely join politics,” she told Rajat Sharma.
While calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “patriot”, the Sadhvi branded Congress President Rahul Gandhi a child. She stated, “Rahul Gandhi is a ‘bachha’(child). He is not the right person to lead the nation. There is no restraint in his statements. There is no mention of the nation’s welfare in his statements. Abroad, he gives statements which bring a bad name to our country. On the other hand, wherever Modi Ji has gone, he has enhanced India’s prestige.”
The arrest of Sadhvi Pragya among others was used by the Congress party to fan the theory of “Hindu Terrorism”. Many have gone on to assert, including a senior official in the erstwhile UPA administration, that the entire charade was an elaborate ploy organized by senior members of the UPA administration for political gains.
