Dayanand Pandey in custody of Mumbai ATS

Dayanand Pandey, the key accused in Malegaon bomb blast probe, has been remanded to the custody of Mumbai ATS till December 1. The MCOCA Court admitted the plea of ATS for the custody of Pandey, after they produced some evidences collected from his laptop.

According to the ATS, the Malegaon blast plan was hatched inside a temple in the presence of Dayanand Pandey and Abhinav Bharat cadres. They reportedly retrieved some audio clippings from the laptop. Pandey and others reportedly talked about RDX, chemicals, hand grenades and training.

 

BJP warns Cong against politicising terror

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday cautioned the ruling Congress against “playing politics” over terror.

Warning that “political moves” could prove counter-productive for the ruling party, senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu said, “Planting stories about involvement of people and organisations affiliated to BJP will prove counter-productive, as the investigation agencies should have sufficient proof to bring the probe to a logical end.”

BJP also seemed to be speaking in the same voice after a bout of differences within the party that came to the fore last week, when a section preferred to remain silent on the involvement of saffron suspects like Sadhvi Pragya Singh and others in the Malegaon blast case and wait till investigations were over, while another section came out openly in defence of the “nationalistic people and organisations” with the line that Hindutva forces could have nothing to do with terror acts.

However, the party seems to have decided on the line that those found guilty should be proceeded against, but only after evidence that could prove their involvement.

Naidu also questioned the timing of the “selective leaks” and said the issue was being politicised ahead of assembly elections in six states and the impending Lok Sabha elections.

“Stories are being planted about involvement of a Hindu leader and a BJP legislator… sufficient evidence should be there to place the investigation before the judiciary,” he said, as party chief Rajnath Singh too accused the government of communalising the Malegaon case.

“The government is playing with fire by painting terrorism in communal colours. Hindu terrorism is politically motivated. I caution the government to change its outlook on terrorism and see it in the right perspective,” Singh said in Raipur.

Both Singh and Naidu maintained that the BJP was not against any probe but would oppose distorted propaganda against religious leaders. “The use of phrases like Hindu terrorism has political overtones,” Naidu said.

Party general secretary Gopinath Munde had said in Ahmednagar on Wednesday that Hindu organisations being questioned in the Malegaon blast case were targeted without any concrete evidence.

 

Malegaon blast: ATS gets transit remand of Dayanand Pandey

LUCKNOW: Maharashtra ATS on Thursday got the transit remand of Dayanand Pandey, a seer arrested in connection with the Malegaon blast case, till November 16 to take him to the state. ( Watch )

Pandey alias Sudhakar Dwivedi, who was arrested on Wednesday, was produced before magistrate Mukesh Kumar at his residence by the ATS as the court was closed due to Guru Nanak Jayanti.

The court gave the three-day transit remand to the ATS so that he could be produced before a Nashik court.

Dwivedi was picked up on Wednesday from Kanpur by the ATS team and arrested after questioning.

ATS in Jammu for investigations

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which is probing the September 29 Malegaon Blasts, has sent a team to Jammu and Kashmir to interrogate the detained persons there, a senior ATS official said on Thursday. ( Watch )

The ATS, along with the Uttar Pradesh police, had on Wednesday arrested Dayanand Pandey alias Sudhakar Dwivedi believed to be a ‘seer’, who allegedly played a major role in the blast conspiracy.

Pandey’s Chartered Accountant (CA) V K Kapoor and his son Pawan were also detained in Jammu for questioning. The duo was however let off as “nothing adverse” was found against them, the official said.

Pandey heads the Sharda Sarvagya Peeth in Jammu, the finance of which was managed by Kapoor and his son.

The ATS chief Hemant Karkare on Wednesday said that Pandey had attended several meetings prior to the blast alongwith Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit and other accused in Nashik and Madhya Pradesh.

The ATS chief had also clarified that except Purohit no other serving army officer has been questioned or detained in connection with the blast.

He had also said that the ATS is not “after any political leader from Uttar Pradesh and none of its official has been sent to Gorakhpur.”

Till now, the ATS has arrested nine persons and have been booked them in cases for conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder and under the Indian Explosives Act.

Regarding media reports of Purohit and other arrested accused’s role in other blasts, Karakare said only Rakesh Dhawde’s role in the Nanded blast had been established. ( Watch )

“Dhawde, who was arrested from Pune, had given training in weapons and explosives to the accused in the Nanded blast and hence he would soon be booked in that case also,” Karkare said.

 

Sensex below 8000

The much-talked Orissa nun rape case has taken an interesting turn, as the nun, Sister Meena Lalita Barwa, who had gone into hiding and refused to cooperate with the police, broke her silence and held a press conference in New Delhi. The nun, whose face and head were covered with a scarf, sobbed before the international, national and regional TV cameras while narrating her tale of horror. The nun, Sister Meena revealed that she was raped by a rioting mob in K. Nuagaon in Kandhamal on August 25. Her press conference was held under the aegis of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. The nun had to come out in open after the Supreme Court rejected her demand for a CBI probe and asked her to cooperate with the state crime branch. With tears rolled down her cheeks and a choked voice, Sister Meena said, “I was raped and now I don’t want to be victimised by the Orissa Police. I want a CBI inquiry. The state police were present when I was brutally raped. They were friendly with the attackers and tried their best to prevent me from filing an FIR. I don’t have any trust in Orissa police. I want a CBI probe”, said the nun. The nun read from a prepared statement at the press conference held at the Indian Social Institute on Lodhi Road in Delhi. During the 15-minute press conference, she narrated her traumatic experience in details, but did not take any questions. She also said that the rape occurred in the presence of over a dozen policemen. According to her version, she was raped, paraded naked and then handed over to the Block Development Officer, who took her to K. Nuagaon police outpost. Later, when she and Father Chellan tried to file an FIR, they were discouraged by the IIC, Baliguda Police Station. She also had to undergo a medical examination around 10 in the night. The nun confirmed that the mob also misbehaved and beat up Father Thomas Chellantharayil alias Father Chellan, who was with her. She demanded an immediate CBI probe and maintained that she does not want to cooperate with the state police, as she has lost trust in them.

Students in Bihar went on a rampage during today’s Bihar Bandh. Thousands of students turned violent and tried to vandalize the Patna University. The police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the mob. The mob also set Sheikhpura Railway Station on fire and disrupted train services across Bihar. At least 150 students have been arrested so far. The Bihar Bandh has been called by student unions in Bihar.

A group of miscreants belonging to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ransacked the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) office in Nasik, protesting against the former ABVP member Pragyan (Pragnya) Singh in the Malegaon blast. The NCP goons shouted anti-ABVP slogans and attacked the ABVP office in Ashok Stambh locality in Nasik. The miscreants damaged the furniture and the board of VHP. They reportedly blackened the face of some ABVP members present in the office. Later, VHP and ABVP workers took to the streets in protest against the attack on ABVP office. Situation is tense, but under control in Nasik.

The Mumbai ATS confirmed that only a fringe Hindu group headed by Sadhvi Pragnya (Pragyan) Singh Chandrapal Singh Thakur (38) is involved in the Malegaon bomb blast. Pragnya Singh Thakur, known as Sadhvi Purnachetnagiri has taken ‘Sanyas’ in January 2007 and reportedly formed a group of fundamentalists to avenge the bomb blasts conducted by Islamic terror groups. Sadhvi Pragnya had joined ABVP in 1993. However, she later became a fierce leader, advocating Hindu Nationalism. Sadhvi Pragnya was the head of Madhya Pradesh ABVP Unit in 2002. She was seen campaigning for the BJP in Gujarat in 2002 and 2007 elections. Pragnya also shared the stage with Gujarat CM Narendra Modi during an election campaign. She denounced the material life and took ‘Sanyas’ in January 2007. The BJP, Bajrang Dal and ABVP now deny any link with Pragnya for a long time. According to sources, Pragnya was a fighter since her childhood. If we believe her father, who gave an interview to Star News TV Channel, Pragnya always fought injustice and never tolerated anti-social activities. According to her father Chandrapal Singh, Pragnya and her sister once beat up a group of goons from Congress party when they dared to take on the sisters. Pragnya and her sister reportedly beat up those goons to such an extent that they begged for mercy before these strong girls. Sadhvi Pragnya has been a tomboy since her childhood. She dressed up like boys, kept short hairs, learned fighting skills and had a great passion for bikes. She can ride any bike including Pulsar, Bullet etc. etc. She founded the Jai Vande Mataram Jan Kalyan Samiti in 2002. Pragnya’s accomplices Shivnarayan Gopalsingh Kalsangra (36) and Shyam Sabarlal Sahu (42), who were arrested by the Mumbai ATS, were part of her network. Her speeches were fiery and full of hatred against the Islamic terrorists. The Mumbai Police believe that Pragnya had a mission of carrying out bomb blasts across the country to avenge the bomb blasts conducted by Islamic terror groups. She had hatred in her mind and followed religious fanaticism. Although she was a former member of ABVP and Hindu Jagran Manch, she had formed her own network and pursued the mission secretly. It’s surprising that she chose her own bike to carry out the blast. According to Mumbai ATS, two Army officers detained in Pune, helped her to bring RDX from Kanpur. More arrests are likely in this case, as the ATS has reached Bhopal to proceed with their probe. The ATS sources claim that they have a 400 minutes tape between Sadhvi Pragnya and her associates. The tape was compiled after analyzing Pragnya’s mobile call details. More skeletons will tumble, as the probe progresses. Meanwhile, BJP and ABVP have distanced themselves from Sadhvi Pragnya, saying she was a former member of ABVP and had no recent links with the organization. However, Sadhvi Uma Bharti and Sadhvi Ritambara have come out in support of Sadhvi Pragnya and termed the latest development as a pre-planned conspiracy to frame Hindu groups. Hundreds of people took out a procession in Jabalpur in support of Sadhvi Pragnya. They burnt the effigy of Maharashtra government for allegedly framing Sadhvi Pragnya.

At 1127 hours, the 30-share BSE Index is down 443 points at 8257. NSE Nifty is down 128 points at 2,455. Sensex @1127 hrs: The Sensex touched a low of 8,057, and is now down 447 points at 8,254. Wipro has slumped 16.7% to Rs 196. Tata Power has tumbled nearly 14% to Rs 539. DLF has crashed 11% to Rs 181. SBI and Hindustan Unilever have plunged over 10% each to Rs 1,037 and Rs 202, respectively. TCS and NTPC have shed 9.5% each at Rs 443 and Rs 118, respectively. Tata Steel has dropped 9% to Rs 162. ONGC and Reliance Communications have slipped 7.8% each to Rs 608 and Rs 178, respectively. Ranbaxy has declined 7.5% to Rs 175. HDFC Bank and Grasim are down 6.8% each at Rs 906 and Rs 982, respectively. Mahindra & Mahindra, however, has rebounded into the positive zone and is now up 1.6% at Rs 292.

Bus Hijacked in Mumbai An unidentified gunman was killed on Monday by Mumbai Police in a state transport bus after he was suspected of trying to take the passengers hostage in suburban Kurla. The incident occurred around 0930 hours inside a BEST bus in the city’s northeast suburb of Kurla, they said. “The man fired at the police in ‘Bail’ bazar area of Kurla and was shot in retaliatory fire,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Rakesh Maria said. The police suspect that the gunman was trying to take the bus passengers hostage and ‘this is being verified’. He was pronounced dead at the Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar, police said but did not release details about him. A passenger, who also sustained injuries in the incident, has been taken to the same hospital, where his condition is reported to be critical.