[Reader-list] Delayed Waking up: Terrorism Investigations

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Delayed Waking up: Terrorism Investigations

Ram Puniyani

The Ajmer bomb blasts took place on 11th October 2007; these took
place inside the holy Shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, killing two
people. In the wake of this the central Home minister, in his standard
statement said that this is the handiwork of HUJI and
Lashkar-e-Tayyaba type groups who are indulging in these activities
and this is aimed to disrupt the communal harmony in the country.
Three years down the line now a RSS functionary Devendra Gupta and his
associates have been accused of triggering this blast and have been
arrested. To cap it all there seems to be the connection between this
Ajmer blast and the blast which took place in Mecca Masjid in
Hyderabad, which took place a few months ago of this Ajmer blast (May
2007).

There is also the news that the Rajasthan police despite evidence
delayed the investigation of Ajmer blasts as the leads of
investigation pointed towards the involvement of Hindu right wing
terror gangs. One also hears that since Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was
arrested in connection with Malegaon blasts, her links led to Swami
Asimanand of Dangs, who is the major RSS combine figure of the area.
He is absconding since then. And now apart from Maharashtra police
Rajasthan police is also looking for him.

Strange things have happened in connection with the investigation of
blasts during last few years. The thesis guiding the police
investigation for a long time was that terror groups are being
promoted by Pakistan and they want to create communal disharmony, that
they are putting bombs in places of Muslim worship. It is due to this
and the inherent biases of our investigation agencies that for so long
and despite clear involvement of terror groups inspired and connected
with ideology of RSS were not touched. It was after Hemant Karkare
discovered the irrefutable evidence of Sadhvi’s motor cycle used in
Maelgaon blasts and her connections with all others, Lt Col. Prasad
Shrikant Purohit, Swami Dayanand Pande, Retd. Major Upadhaya etc.,
that the nexus was discovered. After the tragic killing of Hemant
Karkare again the investigation has put on the slow track. In the face
of such strong evidences now some of the investigation authorities are
forced to wake up to the threat of terrorism done by these groups.

There has been a pattern of these terror attacks done by the likes of
Sadhvi, those connected with RSS ideology or remotely connected with
organizations floated by the ones’ trained in RSS ideology. This
raises lot of questions about the professional competence of our
investigation agencies. The blasts took place in the places where
predominantly Muslims congregate, blasts took place at times when
their numbers was maximum in the places of prayer. The observation was
that after the blasts, blinded by the inherent biases, the
investigation agencies made it a routine to arrest some Muslim youth.
The names of HUJI, Lashkar, and SIMI have been dished out and lapped
up by media which has shaped the public opinion.

The problems which we witnessed in this are two fold. One, the
innocents were tortured and their lives and careers were ruined by
this crass attitude and second the real culprits carried on merrily
one after the other, knowing full well that they will be protected
because of their religion and because of their organization, which
makes maximum noises against terrorism itself.

The pattern began with Nanded in 2006, when two Bajrang Dal workers
died while making bombs, in the same city later a Shiv Sena Shaka
member died in the go-down storing biscuits, two Bajrag Dal Workers
died in Kanpur in 2008 and many such incidents kept going on. The tide
in a way turned when the irrefutable evidence of Sadhvi Pragya Singh
Thakurs' motor cycle being used in Malegaon blast was detected. The
immaculate investigation done by Mahrashtra ATS led to the detection
of the involvement of other such affiliates (meaning all those
organization who subscribe to ideology of Hindu Nation, Hindutva and
whose core team is trained in this ideology). Sadhvis' photo was also
seen with the BJP President Rajnath Singh. Surely after the arrest of
the real culprits starting from the Sadhvi, the frequency of terror
attacks has come down. In Thane on 4th June 2008, two Hindu Jagran
Samiti workers were arrested for planting the bombs in the basement of
Gadkari Rangayatan, due to which 7 people got injured. The same group
was involved in the blasts in Vashi, Panvel also. This group was also
involved in the bomb blast in Goa, recently on the occasion of Narak
Chaturdashi. This group idolizes Savarkar (Hindu Mahasabha) and
Hedgewar (RSS) and indoctrinates its members into hating Christians
and Muslims.

Similarly on 24th August 2008 two Bajrang Dal activists died in
Kanpur, while making bombs. The Kanpur zone IGP S.N. Singh stated that
their investigations have revealed that this group was planning
massive explosions all over the state. Indian Express, 23 Oct 2008
reports that those involved in the bomb blast in Malegaon and Modasa
(Sept 2008) had links with Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad

Similarly in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu pipe bomb attack on RSS office
(Jan.2008) was projected to have been done by Jehadi Muslims. The
investigation revealed many a Hindu names and later the investigations
was frozen. In an alleged Fidayin attack was claimed that in the
attack on RSS office in Nagpur (June 1, 2006) three of them were
killed in the police encounter, as per the police version. Citizens
Inquiry report, headed by Justice Kolse Patil doubted the police
version in a serious way; the clarifications did not come through from
the authorities.

Pained by this attitude of the State and investigating authorities a
Citizens tribunal was held in Hyderabad August 2008, the tribunal
concluded that, “This fight against terrorism, victims emphasized, has
veered more around witch hunting of Muslims rather than curbing
terrorism, thus robbing people of their liberty and freedom and making
them more insecure than ever before. The real culprits, they said,
often roam freely whereas the poor and gullible Muslims are picked up
and thrown into jails at whims and fancies of the powers that be.
Victims after victims, who have undergone harassment and torture
without any evidence permissible in the court of law against them,
deposed before the tribunal — comprising country’s eminent
personalities including former judges, lawyers and renowned social
activists – and narrated their tales of woes to the shock and anguish
of hundreds of audience.”

One of the major hurdles which have obstructed the truth coming out is
that the investigation of the blasts cases is not easy and a lot
depends on the investigation authorities’ attitude and bias. In these
cases media generally laps up whatever is dished out by police and not
much of independent voice comes up. Those doubting the police version
are dubbed as anti national and media keeps itself at safe distance
from those who care to pick the holes in theory put out by police.
Usual norm of journalism should be to doubt the state version also and
not to dismiss those who have alternative version. In cases of terror
attacks this norm is kept aside. It is because of this that so far the
investigations do not get the corrective direction, and many a times
are totally fallacious, as the truth coming out from Ajmer case and
other similar cases show us. One hopes that professionalism prevails
over biases and independent voices are not stifled in such matters if
we want to reach the truth, if we want to ensure that such attacks do
not repeat themselves.


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Issues in Secular Politics

IV May 2010
www.pluralindia.com
response only to ram.puniyani at gmail.com