Chargesheet by NIA illegal, says accused

MALEGAON BLASTS

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The discharge applications filed by two accused in the 2006 Malegaon mosque blasts case was on Saturday opposed by a co-accused, Dhan Singh, who has also challenged the legality of a chargesheet filed against him and three others.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on May 22 filed a chargesheet against four persons suspected to be belonging to a right wing outfit, blaming them to be the engineers of Malegaon serial blasts that killed 31.

While moving the application before the designated judge Y D Shinde, Singh stated that the ‘further investigation’ done by NIA is illegal and bad in law. The NIA is likely to file its reply on July 22.

Shinde terror remark: A trial court has given a last opportunity to a person to file an affidavit to show why he wants the court to summon PM Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi as witnesses in his complaint against Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for his alleged “Hindu terror” remarks made at Jaipur early this year. TNN

The Times of India, June 30, 2013

PIL seeks info on top police officers

MALEGAON BLASTS

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Muslim-e-Hind, an NGO, filed a PIL in the Bombay high court seeking a first information report, arrest and suspension of several police officers who were directly or indirectly involved in the investigation of 2006 Malegaon serial blasts. The
NGO said that the ATS had falsely implicated nine Muslim youths where as the Hindu hardliners were involved in the blasts.

The PIL has named the then ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi, the then DIG Subodh Kumar Jaiswal and the then Nasik rural SP, Rajvardhan Sinha and urged the HC to instruct the state to set up an SIT to investigate these officers.

The PIL was filed on June 18 and will be heard on June 26. Malegaon residents had raised doubts about the ATS theory that the local youths were responsible for the September 2006 blasts.


The Times of India, June 25, 2013

Code names used during terror training

MALEGAON BLASTS

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Rajendra Chaudhary, a bomb planter in the 2006 Malegaon serial blasts, said all the youths who attended a terror training camp in Madhya Pradesh in January 2006 were given code names by mastermind Sunil Joshi to hide their identities.

In its chargesheet, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) stated that the terror training camp was organized by RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi (murdered in 2007). “Joshi gave me a new name as Samundar. Another participant Kamal Chaowhan was given the coded name of Vijay, Lokesh Sharma was called Ajay, and Joshi himself was called Manoj. This was to hide our identity,” Chaudhary said in his statement.

Chaudhary and three others are behind the bars for their involvement in the 2006 Malegaon blasts.
“We would discuss the atrocities on Hindus by Pakistani Muslims and planned to target Muslims’ places of worship, their institutes, religious processions etc. We took pledge to take revenge,” Chaudhary added.

Dhan Singh — another arrested accused — said they were shown a movie, Black Friday, based on 1993 Mumbai riots and blasts, as part of indoctrination process. “I used to attend my village’s RSS shakha since 2002 where I came in touch with Sunil Joshi. Our only motto was revenge and attack on Muslims,” Singh said.

Singh said that in 2008, on the instructions of wanted accused Ramchandra Kalsangara, he along with one Dinesh had taken a motorcycle to Sendhwa in MP. NIA suspects that the same bike was used in planting bombs in Malegaon in 2008.


The Times of India, June 23, 2013

Malegaon blasts key man was in Mumbai cops’ custody: NIA

Hindu Terrorist Claimed Role In Attack But Was Ignored: Agency

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai:The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has debunked the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad theory on the 2006 Malegaon blasts and said that the prime conspirator, Shabbir Masiullah, was taken into custody by the Mumbai crime branch before the blasts occurred.

The NIA also said that Zahid Majeed, whom the ATS had named as one of the accused who planted the bombs, was not present on the spot but was in Yavatmal during the time of the blasts.

The ATS had arrested nine Muslim youths for planting the bombs and charged them under attempt to murder, and invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). While seven of the nine men were released on bail after serving over five years in prison, two are still incarcerated as they are accused in the 7/11 Mumbai local train blasts as well.

In its chargesheet, the NIA said its investigations showed that the entire conspiracy was hatched and carried out by Hindu terror operatives. It said the four bombs used to kill 31 people were assembled at Sarvasampann Nagar in Indore and transported to Malegaon in state buses by Manohar Narwaria, Ramchandra Kalsangara, Dhan Singh and Rajendra Chaudhary. Of the four, Kalsangara alias Badal Yadav is absconding.

The NIA, however, has not invoked MCOCA against the Hindu terror operatives, making it easy for the accused to get bail. The NIA said Manohar Narwaria alias Sumer Thakur, Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Lokesh Sharma along with Kalsangara, Sandeep Dange and Amit Hakla had done a reconnaissance of Malegaon thrice.

“They were making preparatory acts to commit terror acts by arranging and imparting training in operating fire arms and assembling bombs at Bagli, Devas (MP), in 2006 to a group of persons, to commit terror acts at various Muslim religious places in India,” the chargesheet said.

The NIA said the bombs were manufactured by Kalsangara, Dhan Singh, Sharma and Hakla during June and July 2006. “The third recce of Malegaon was done on September 1, 2006, the spot was finalized and the accused decided to plant four bombs. A day before the blasts, Kalsangara, Singh, Narwaria and Chaudhry started from Indore with bombs in state transport buses and reached Malegaon next morning. Four bombs were kept in two metallic boxes covered in two bags,” the chargesheet said.

The agency further said that in Malegaon, Narwaria and Chaudhary bought bicycles in the name of Sumer Thakur and Badal Yadav, respectively. “The bombs were fitted into the cycles at the bus station,” it said.

The NIA said that Narwaria and Kalsangara planted bombs at the Muslim cemetery while Chaudhary and Singh went to Mushawerat chowk with the bomb-laden cycle. After planting the bombs, they boarded a bus to Jalgaon and then to Indore.

In the meantime, Sharma went to Paharganj and made phone calls to some media houses, claiming the blasts were the handiwork of Dharmasena. But he did not get any response, the NIA said.



The Times of India, June 22, 2013