[Reader-list] The other side of terrorism

[Avinash Kumar]

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Terrorism: Biased Investigation
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Ram Puniyani
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One more act of blast took place on 10th Feb 2007 in Nanded, city in the
remote interiors of Mahrashtra, in the wee of hours of the morning. On the
day next, the initial media reports did describe it as a blast. It took
place in a biscuit shop, Amol Biscuits. It was a low key reporting in the
media. In this blast one person, Pandurang Amilkanthwar, died instantly and
another, Dyaneshwar Manikkwar, suffered 70% of burns and succumbed to his
injuries on sixth day. In the initial statement, Manikwar said that it was
an electric short-circuit. The next day he retracted his statement to say
that he and Pandurang had deliberately put fire by using petrol to claim the
insurance money as they were having financial problems.

Police and a section of media promptly accepted this version and stated that
there was no political angle involved in the case, overlooking the fact that
Pandurang was a Shiv Sena Shakha Pramukh, who was close to Bajrang Dal also.
Just to recapitulate a year ago (April 6, 2006), in Nanded, in a blast two
Bajrang Dal workers were killed while making a bomb. The police explained it
as a burst of crackers. But the impact of the blast was too strong and the
police version stood exposed. The blast shattered the windows in the
surrounding area of over a Kilometer. The house search revealed the powerful
bomb, with timer and remote control, after which the Inspector General of
police conceded that it was a bomb blast and that those involved in the
blast are the members of Bajrang Dal. Local papers reported that a diary has
been found at the spot, which has the details of bomb making techniques and
other relevant information. The local BJP MP stated that it was a minor
incident. Meanwhile all the top leadership of RSS, VHP visited the hospital
to see the injured and mourn the dead.

The police did arrest some fourteen people, who were close associates of the
one's who died. But they were all released, as the charges under which they
were arrested related to minor offense only. Also the police/state pleader
had no objections if the bail was granted to the arrested ones. The Bajrang
Dal chief and other activists of the dal were left untouched despite the
correlation of blasts with this RSS affiliate. Anti Terrorist Squad
Inspector General K.P.Raghuvanshi stated that the explosives and other
weapons seized on the spot indicate that they were being trained in making
bombs and operating firearms. They also started investigating the possible
involvement of Bajrang Dal, a RSS affiliate, in a blast outside a mosque in
Parbhani, two years ago.

One recalls that there were series of episodes and blasts in Maharashtra in
Parbhani, Purna, Jalna, Mumbai and Malegaon. The most disturbing of these
was the train blast in Mumbai, July 11 2006 and Malegaon September 8, 2006.
The timing of blasts shows a clear pattern, barring in Mumbai, it was
outside the mosques and in the afternoons. In the aftermath of Mumbai train
blasts hundreds of Muslim youth were recklessly arrested in the Malvani area
of Mumbai. In other places also many youth were put behind the bars on the
slightest suspicion. This bias in police attitude was so blatant that in
Malvani, the local people took the procession to the police station to get
the innocent youth released. In Malegaon blast also, which took place on the
day of Shab-e-Barat out side the Mosque near Bada kabristan, police acted on
the ground that Muslim groups are involved in the process. Here also the
arrests were mostly of those who had minority identity. Some of those with
previous SIMI connection were the easy target. The local Muslim community
was so disgusted with the attitude of the state and the police that it
refused to accept the relief offered by the Chief Minister of the state
under whose nose the biased attitude of police is clearly discernible.
Interestingly in Malegaon police had been on high alert during the Ganapati
festival, and dropped guards when it was Shab-e-Barat. The premise being
that it is Muslims who create problem during Hindu festivals, else all is
heavenly peace. The police had failed to take adequate precautions on a day
prior to Shab-e-barat. They also expressed their frustration by boycotting
the meeting called by minority commission and the panel which went to study
the situation in the city.

The brain mapping and narco test of Nanded blast accused of 2006, (*
http://communalism.blogspot.com/search/label/Maharashtra*) revealed that
Nanded was acting as the Bomb Nirmiti Kendra (Center for Making Bombs),
guided and supported by the state level VHP and Bajrang Dal leaders. The
plan was to make explosions in front of mosques on Friday Afternoons around
2 PM, when the attendance in the mosques is maximum. Himanshu Panse the one
who died while making a bomb is known to have stated that unless, Hindus do
the blasts near Mosques, it will be perceived as if Hindus are Hijras. The
blasts are the only way to stop the attacks like the one in Varanasi and
Delhi.

Coming on the heels of this Malegaon episode, the explanation given for the
current, 2007, Nanded incident was very puzzling. The Citizens Committee ( *
http://www.sabrang.com/nanded/nanded.htm*), which investigated the incident
points out that the deceased changed his statement within hours. In the
current event, a scooter parked on the side of the road at some distance got
burnt, the presence of nails and blades, gas cylinder in the room remaining
unaffected and some food items not catching fire, indicated that there is a
possibility of blasts. The committee amongst others comprised of the retired
High Court judge of Mahrashtra, Justice Kolse Patil and noted social worker,
Teesta Setalvad. The committee with the help of on sight inspections,
interviews and opinions of forensic experts concludes that it was not a
short circuit fire. The available evidence leads it to opine that it might
have been an explosion caused due to an accident during the preparation of
liquid bomb. It might have been due to combination of liquid inflammable
substances. Surprisingly similar techniques have also been used in causing
the blast in Samjhauta Express, in which most of those killed were poor
Muslims.

One wonders what is happening to the investigations in such matters of
serious concern. The contrast in the treatment of accused of two religious
communities is glaringly obvious. We know the attitude and high handedness
of state and police authorities in dealing with Mumbai and Malegaon blasts,
one has seen the 'promptness' of the authorities in apprehending any body
from the Muslim minority even on the slightest pretext and to keep such a
person in the custody on one ground or other. There are too many gory tales
about the lock up deaths and the type of treatment meted out to some of the
accused. In the case, of Nanded blasts, the one of 2006 and the one of 2007,
despite the narco test report and brain mapping the inaction shown by
authorities concerned is totally baffling. The new police commissioner of
Mumbai, Dhananjay Jadhav, has stated that tackling terrorism will be on the
top of his priority list. What does he mean? Will he at least try to look at
all the evidence in an impartial way to punish the guilty and protect the
innocent? Will he break the shackles of prejudices binding the police force
while dealing with the minorities? If that's what he means, it is a welcome
sign for the state riddled with so many acts of terror. There needs a turn
around in the policy of the state government and police officials who have
been taking a blind partisan view and attitude in the investigation of the
events like this.

The conclusions reached by the committee, more so in the wake of earlier
similar blast in Nanded, and the efforts to present sop stories to cover up
the incidents point to the deeper conspiracy hatched by groups equally
insane and fanatic as the one's belonging to Al Qaeda are. What is
surprising is that the so called secular government of Maharashtra which got
elected on the secular ground, on the ground that it will implement the
Shrikrishna commission report which it never did of course, has been very
biased in its policies as reflected in the investigations done in the cases
of Mumbai and Malegaon blasts. It has failed to connect up the Nanded blasts
of April 2006 and has treated these incidents with jaundiced vision. None of
the functionaries of Bajarang Dal have been taken to task, and the parent
organization of Bajrang Dal, RSS sits pretty. Its time Central government
intervenes, and inquiry of all the terror incidents in Maharashtra is handed
over to CBI or preferably to the committee headed by a judge of impeccable
credentials. Are Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh listening?

 Issues in Secular Politics

March 2007 I

For circulation/Translation/ hosting on Web sites

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www.pluralindia.com
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