A special court in Mumbai has dismissed claims made by a former ATS officer that there were instructions to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

In its detailed verdict — which acquitted seven accused in the case — Special NIA Judge A.K. Lahoti said there was no merit in the claim presented by Sudhakar Dwivedi’s lawyer. The claim was based on statements by Mehboob Mujawar, a former officer of the Maharashtra ATS.

Mujawar had recently repeated that he was told to arrest Bhagwat to portray the incident as a case of “saffron terror.” However, he said he refused the order because he found no evidence linking Bhagwat to the blast.

The court, however, did not accept this version. It also noted that, according to ACP Mohan Kulkarni — who led the investigation at the time — Mujawar was never directed to arrest any RSS member, but was only assigned to locate two absconding suspects: Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange.