A family of terror?

With the Samjhauta Express and Malegaon blasts under the scanner, Hindutva groups and the terror trial are getting decisively linked

Akash Bisht Delhi

The arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Swami Dayanand Pandey, alias Amritanand, and others has brought forward the new face of terror being propagated by the ultra-Rightwing organisations all across the country. The arrest of former and serving army officials and the dubious role of Bhonsala Millitary School in Nashik have proved how professional training is being imparted to the youth brigade of various Rightwing Hindutva outfits. Various bomb blasts at several Muslim dominated localities in the past have also raised suspicions on these saffron outfits and their modus operandi behind such blasts. The government's and security agencies response to nab these Hindutva terrorists has been tepid as they had vital clues of their involvement in Nanded blasts in 2006, bomb blasts in mosques at Parbhani, Jalna and Purna in 2003 and 2004, and the blasts in Kanpur where Bajrang Dal was involved. Indeed, pointers are being made at the Samjhauta Express blasts (with linkages to Indore's Hindutva terrorists) (read Hardnews (October 2008, page 20), and the Ajmer and Hyderabad blasts at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah and Mecca Masjid.

The September 29, 2008 Malegaon blasts that led to the arrest of several Hindutva functionaries and a possibility of some VVIP's involvement in funding of these terror modules has revealed how these modules have been operating in the country with precision, even while the police focus was inevitably on Muslims. The bomb that killed four people was placed outside a mosque and was intended to kill many more had it been parked at the desired location; this was revealed by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS). A taped telephonic conversation between Pragya and one of the accused, Ramji Kalsagre, had the sadhvi asking Ramji of why the bomb was not planted in a crowded area. The motorcycle used was in her name. According to the ATS, she said, "Meri gaadi se blast kiya to itne kam log kaise mare?" For this, Kalsagare, still absconding, said that he couldn't find a place for parking which reportedly infuriated the sadhvi.      

Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, a 37-year-old Hindu hardliner and preacher, has been a prominent name in the saffron circles since she joined ABVP in 1993 and was the state level secretary till 1997 in Madhya Pradesh's (MP's) Bhind district. She has allegedly links with top BJP leaders. Later she joined several Sangh Parivar groups including the Durga Vahini. Leaders of the parivar were quick to distance themselves from her despite her pictures with some top brass BJP leaders. She reportedly also campaigned for Narendra Modi in Gujarat and other BJP politicians. Two army men who were arrested with the sadhvi in connection with the Malegaon blasts were Major Ramesh Upadhyaya (retired), who allegedly helped in procuring RDX, and Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit. These armymen were supposedly members of Abhinav Bharat, a Hindu extremist group.