Blast accused upheld Hindu cause - Sena

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Saturday came out strongly in support of two persons who have been arrested by Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in connection with the Malegaon blasts, saying they were fighting for the "Hindu cause".

In a hard-hitting editorial, the party mouthpiece Saamna said the government on the one hand failed to protect Hindus from terrorism but was quick to brand them terrorists when they tried to take preemptive action.

The editorial accused the Congress of "pampering" its vote bank even as terrorists were busy eliminating generations of Hindus.

"Should the Hindus continue to remain mute, impotent idiots," the editorial asked arguing that it was only natural that Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, a monk, and former army official Ramesh Upadhyay had chosen to protect the "Hindu cause".

The editorial exhorted support for Pragya and Upadhyay and portrayed them as the "pride of the Hindu community" for their "courage to act" in the interests of the majority.

Referring to Thursday's serial bomb blasts in Assam, which claimed 77 lives and left over 300 injured, the editorial quipped that Hindus would have been blamed for that attack as well if Maharashtra's ATS were entrusted investigative duties.

The ATS on Thursday began quizzing a serving lieutenant colonel for his alleged links to the September 29 Malegaon blasts that left six people dead. The ATS has also arrested two retired officers on similar charges.

The arrested officer, currently posted at the Army Education Corps School in Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, is suspected to have helped Pragya, retired major Ramesh Upadhyay, and his associate Sharad Kulkarni in procuring the RDX explosive used in the blasts. Forensic test reports confirmed that RDX and TNT were used along with ammonium nitrate to execute the blasts.

Fragments of the bomb collected from the blast site were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Mumbai.

"Material obtained from the Malegaon blast site turned out to be similar to that obtained from the Makkah mosque blast [of May 2007] site in Hyderabad," experts said.

RDX and TNT had been used during the Hyderabad attack.

Should the Hindus continue to remain mute, impotent idiots?"

Editorial

Saamna (Mumbai newspaper)

Mumbai (PTI) Three accused in the September 29 Malegaon blast case yesterday underwent polygraph tests at the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory.

Pragya Singh Thakur, former Army official Ramesh Upadhyay and Sameer Kulkarni were brought to the laboratory and tests were being conducted, police sources said.

"Some of these accused had the tests done yesterday as well," the sources said, adding that no narco-analysis procedures had been conducted.

Five persons, including Pragya Thakur, have been arrested for planting a motorcycle bomb in Malegaon which claimed six lives.

A magistrate's court in Nasik had granted permission to the state's anti-terrorist squad (ATS) to conduct polygraph and narco-analysis tests on the three accused. A serving officer with the army and two former officials of the Bhonsala Military School in Nasik have been brought to the city by the ATS for questioning.

Shailesh Raikar and Rajan Gaidhani, also employees of the military school, were brought to the city yesterday.

Investigators suspect that conspiracy meetings could have been held at the institution prior to the blast, a claim refuted by the school's administration.