NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has demanded an independent probe into the role of Srikant Purohit and Dayanand Pandey, the two accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts, who were also alleged to be simultaneously plotting to eliminate RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat and his colleague Indresh Kumar.In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, RSS Sarkaryavah (general secretary) Suresh Joshi has raised the “fundamental question” as to how the Sangh could be “bracketed” with those viciously hostile to it and conspiring to kill its leaders.The four-page missive, copies of which were distributed to the press on Friday, has accused the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad for taking a “conscious decision” by telling the Mumbai High Court in July last year that there was “nothing specific” on the alleged plot to kill the RSS leaders, and no action was required to be taken.Joshi claimed the ATS was misleading the court, and alleged that its January 2009 chargesheet on the September 8, 2006 Malegaon blasts that killed 37 people near a mosque, submitted to the court, contains transcripts of audio CDs detailing conversations of the accused. It revealed that while the plotters were organising a chemical attack on Bhagwat, they had given a pistol to a specific person to eliminate Indresh Kumar.The CD recordings “show that the conspirators were spewing venom” at the RSS and the BJP. “This extra-judicial confession conclusively proved that the RSS was a target of the accused persons in the Malegaon case.”Objecting to Maharashtra ATS’ not registering an FIR against the conspirators, Joshi said it amounted to aborting the probe into the conspiracy of murder. “That is criminal.... Was the investigation aborted because the exposure of the plot would foil any attempt to bracket the RSS with the Malegaon conspirators?”Joshi has told the Prime Minister that the RSS was taking legal advice about its action on the ATS “criminally forsaking its basic duty under the law” and the state and union governments keeping “silent” about it.Demanding a probe into the role of Col Purohit and Dayanand Pandey on their ‘hidden political connections’ to malign the RSS, Joshi was of the view that only an independent investigation will expose their political agenda. He said that given the hostility of the ruling party and the way investigative agencies have conducted the probe so far, no government agency today has the credibility to undertake the task.Saturday, February 12, 2011
RSS urges PM to probe role of Purohit, Pandey
NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has demanded an independent probe into the role of Srikant Purohit and Dayanand Pandey, the two accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts, who were also alleged to be simultaneously plotting to eliminate RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat and his colleague Indresh Kumar.In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, RSS Sarkaryavah (general secretary) Suresh Joshi has raised the “fundamental question” as to how the Sangh could be “bracketed” with those viciously hostile to it and conspiring to kill its leaders.The four-page missive, copies of which were distributed to the press on Friday, has accused the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad for taking a “conscious decision” by telling the Mumbai High Court in July last year that there was “nothing specific” on the alleged plot to kill the RSS leaders, and no action was required to be taken.Joshi claimed the ATS was misleading the court, and alleged that its January 2009 chargesheet on the September 8, 2006 Malegaon blasts that killed 37 people near a mosque, submitted to the court, contains transcripts of audio CDs detailing conversations of the accused. It revealed that while the plotters were organising a chemical attack on Bhagwat, they had given a pistol to a specific person to eliminate Indresh Kumar.The CD recordings “show that the conspirators were spewing venom” at the RSS and the BJP. “This extra-judicial confession conclusively proved that the RSS was a target of the accused persons in the Malegaon case.”Objecting to Maharashtra ATS’ not registering an FIR against the conspirators, Joshi said it amounted to aborting the probe into the conspiracy of murder. “That is criminal.... Was the investigation aborted because the exposure of the plot would foil any attempt to bracket the RSS with the Malegaon conspirators?”Joshi has told the Prime Minister that the RSS was taking legal advice about its action on the ATS “criminally forsaking its basic duty under the law” and the state and union governments keeping “silent” about it.Demanding a probe into the role of Col Purohit and Dayanand Pandey on their ‘hidden political connections’ to malign the RSS, Joshi was of the view that only an independent investigation will expose their political agenda. He said that given the hostility of the ruling party and the way investigative agencies have conducted the probe so far, no government agency today has the credibility to undertake the task.
