<p>A real estate agent on Thursday became the 30th witness to turn hostile in the 2008 Malegaon blast case in which Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Thakur is among the accused.</p>.<p>The witness had been recruited as secret informer by Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, one of the accused in the case.</p>.<p>As per the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which initially probed the case, the witness had given it a statement in 2008.</p>.<p>But during the deposition before the court, the witness said he did not recollect giving any statement to the probe agency, following which the court declared him as hostile.</p>.<p>As per the prosecution, he is the 30th witness to turn hostile in the case.</p>.<p>The prosecution had claimed that the witness had told the ATS that he met Purohit through a common acquaintance and they kept in touch.</p>.<p>Later, Purhohit recruited him for gathering information for the military intelligence and also gave him an identity card, as per the ATS.</p>.<p>Purohit spoke about spreading the Hindutva ideology and told him that he was working on building an organization on those lines, the ATS had quoted the witness as saying.</p>.<p>The witness had also attended a meeting of the secret organization Abhinav Bharat in Pune where other accused were also present, the statement claimed.</p>.<p>The witness, however, recognised only Purohit in the court on Thursday and not any of other accused.</p>.<p>Six people were killed and over 100 injured on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town in north Maharashtra, some 200 km from Mumbai.</p>
<p>A real estate agent on Thursday became the 30th witness to turn hostile in the 2008 Malegaon blast case in which Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Thakur is among the accused.</p>.<p>The witness had been recruited as secret informer by Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, one of the accused in the case.</p>.<p>As per the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which initially probed the case, the witness had given it a statement in 2008.</p>.<p>But during the deposition before the court, the witness said he did not recollect giving any statement to the probe agency, following which the court declared him as hostile.</p>.<p>As per the prosecution, he is the 30th witness to turn hostile in the case.</p>.<p>The prosecution had claimed that the witness had told the ATS that he met Purohit through a common acquaintance and they kept in touch.</p>.<p>Later, Purhohit recruited him for gathering information for the military intelligence and also gave him an identity card, as per the ATS.</p>.<p>Purohit spoke about spreading the Hindutva ideology and told him that he was working on building an organization on those lines, the ATS had quoted the witness as saying.</p>.<p>The witness had also attended a meeting of the secret organization Abhinav Bharat in Pune where other accused were also present, the statement claimed.</p>.<p>The witness, however, recognised only Purohit in the court on Thursday and not any of other accused.</p>.<p>Six people were killed and over 100 injured on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town in north Maharashtra, some 200 km from Mumbai.</p>