'We are a family of soldiers and I just want to serve my country': Malegaon blast accused looking forward to life with his pet dog after nine years in jail

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After spending nearly nine years behind bars, Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit had hoped that he would soon be a free man after being granted bail by the Supreme Court.

However, his bail procedure could not be completed in time as the required papers needed to reach jail authorities before sunset.

So the disgraced colonel had to spend another night in jail. En route Taloja jail, Purohit said he would be reporting to his army unit on Wednesday and from there, he would head back to the sessions court where the trial against him is going on.

Free man: Lt. Col. Shrikant Prasad Purohit, who was granted bail by the Supreme Court yesterday in the 2008 Malegaon blast case

Mumbai: Malegaon blast case accused Prasad Purohit (left, blue T-shirt)

On being asked if he blamed anyone for the nine years wasted, he said, 'I blame no one but my destiny.' It's only after attending court that Purohit would be returning to Pune to his home, his family and his beloved pet dog. He has already planned to adopt two more dogs soon.

Speaking to the media, Purohit steered clear of questions deemed political. Purohit's wife herself has been stationed in Delhi since Monday when the bail order was to be pronounced.

However, the one condition that the apex court had imposed - providing two solvent surgeries - was something Purohit was unable to provide immediately.

The procedure mandates that there should be people who own properties in a particular area more than a specified amount, who need to get a solvency certificate from the collector showing that they own the property, and that certificate has to be provided to the court.

Getting that certificate in itself is a tedious task, and so Purohit's legal team requested the court that he be allowed to give cash sureties in the time the solvency certificates are obtained.

The court agreed and the order was passed on to the lower court for processing his bail.

Finally, it was only after 7pm that Purohit could leave the sessions court with his release order. On Tuesday, Purohit said, 'I am very happy now. I want to return to my two families - my service and my home. My younger son is 12 years old and wants to join the army like me.'

Purohits' family has been associated with the infantry for generations. His grandfather and maternal uncles were in the army.

Lt Col Shrikant Purohit was suspended from service in January 2009

'We are a family of soldiers. I just want to get back to serving my country,' he said. On being asked whether he would take any action against ATS officials who allegedly planted RDX, Purohit said, 'I am not an individual. The army will decide. If the army finds my claim right, then the senior commanders will do it. We are taught in the army to have faith in self, command and commander. Everyone will take care at their own stage.'

In 2008, a blast had ripped through Malegaon, the powerloom centre of Maharashtra, killing six people and injuring more than 100. Maharashtra ATS, which initially investigated the case, had arrested Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Purohit on allegations of masterminding the blast.

NIA, however, took over investigations and filed a supplementary charge sheet saying that MCOCA cannot be applied in the case and there is not enough evidence against Sadhvi Pragya.

Sadhvi Pragya had already been granted bail earlier. The apex court yesterday granted bail to Purohit, who has been in jail for almost nine years for his alleged role in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

The apex court said there were material contradictions in the charge sheets filed by the ATS and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which were required to be tested at the time of trial.

Last week, Purohit, in his application for bail, told the court that he was in jail for the last nine years and was entitled to be granted bail.