Lt. Col. Srikant Purohit arrested

In a shocking development, Lt. Colonel Srikant Prasad Purohit, a service officer in Indian Army, has been arrested by the Mumbai ATS for his alleged involvement in the Malegaon bomb blast. Lt. Col. Purohit was questioned by the ATS last week. He was detained after the Mumbai ATS unearthed an SMS sent by him to another accused Retd. Major Ramesh Upadhyay.

The SMS sent by Srikant Purhoit read as “We seems to be targeted by ATS. Shivnarain confessed everything. Change SIM card immediately”. The Mumbai ATS filed an FIR against Lt. Col. Purohit before formally arresting him. The latest development sent shockwave across the defence forces, as it is the first-ever instance a serving Army officer has been implicated in terrorist activities. Lt. Col. Srikant Purohit will be produced in Nasik court later today.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai ATS conducted another round of brain mapping and narco test on Sadhvi Pragya Singh and other accused Retd. Major Ramesh Upadhyay and Sameer Kulkarni. Results of the tests are not yet known.

 

Sadhvi Pragya in judicial

The Nasik court sent Sadhvi Pragya Singh, a prime accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case, to judicial custody till November 17. Two other accused Shiv Narayan and Shyamlal Sahu were also sent to judicial custody.

The Mumbai ATS arrested three other persons in connection with the blasts. They were remanded to police custody till November 10. The police claimed that one of the arrested, Ajay Raikar financed the terror group, which was involved in the Malegaon bomb blast. Six imported weapons were recovered from Ajay Raikar, the treasurer of Abhinav Bharat. Mumbai ATS is likely to conduct another narco test on Pragya Singh. It could be recalled that narco test and brain mapping conducted on Sadhvi Pragya Singh produced no results.

“I will speak when I get justice.”, said Pragya in the court. Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, argued her own case in the court. Pragya told the court that she and the two others arrested along with her were innocent and were being framed as part of a game plan to defame Hindutva movement. She also alleged torture by ATS officials during her interrogation before and after her formal arrest.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Shiv Sena, BJP, Hindu Maha Sabha and Abhinav Bharat workers shouted slogans against the Maharashtra government and Mumbai ATS outside the Nasik court. They also shouted slogans in favour of Sadhvi Pragya Singh. Shiv Sena has accused that UPA government is hatching a conspiracy to defame the Hindu organizations. RSS and BJP also came out in open to support Pragya Singh and questioned the theories of Mumbai ATS.

 

Death tolls 60

he death toll in the serial blasts that rocked Guwahati and upper Assam in the morning, reached 50 with more injured succumbing to the injuries in the hospitals. People, who browsed for ‘NE News’ or ‘Assam News’ in the morning, got a rude shocker, as terrorists carried out 11 blasts in Guwahati, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar and Barpeta. In Guwahati, Dispur Road, Pan Bazar, Fancy Bazar and Ganeshguri Flyover have been targeted.

The impact of the serial blasts was so high that people and vehicles both charred beyond recognition. The dead bodies were seen lying here and there. Over 200 people were injured in the blasts. They are being treated in various hospital. Forensic experts believed that IDE and RDX of high intensity were used to trigger the blasts. The blasts were carried out in a planned manner and Assam government failed to prevent the blasts even though it was repeatedly warned by the Centre.

Although ULFA’s involvement in the serial blasts in Assam is suspected, the intelligence sources believe that Bangladesh-based HuJI could be behind the blasts. The recent communal clashes between local Assamese and Bangladeshis are being attributed to the serial blasts in Assam. Some Islamic terrorist organizations may have carried out the blasts to seek revenge. However, nothing can be said at the moment, as the investigation is still going on. The recent Assam blasts shook the nation, which just celebrated Diwali two days ago.

As expected, Union Home Ministry, Prime Minister and many other leaders have condemned the serial bomb blasts in Assam. Union MoS for Home Shakeel Ahmed tried to take a swipe on BJP and other Sangh Parivar groups even though he was asked about Assam bomb blasts. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi looked lost to find words, while the AGP demanded the immediate resignation of the government.

The BJP, which has been gunning for the head of the UPA government on the issue of terrorism, is on a defensive after the Mumbai ATS proved the Saffron angle to Malegaon blasts. The blame game, which began a few months ago, is not on its peak and no political party is trying to address the real issue. They are just worried about their vote banks. In such a situation, it won’t be surprising, if we witness more terror attacks in the country over the next few months.

 

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.