[Reader-list] Godhra man held for planting Ajmer bomb

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Godhra man held for planting Ajmer bomb
Nitesh Kumar Sharma & Kshitiz Gaur, TNN, Nov 5, 2010, 03.45am IST

JAIPUR/AJMER: Suspects in the 2002 post-Godhra riots appear to be in
the crosshairs of the Rajasthan Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). The ATS
arrested a second man from Gujarat, in the Ajmer dargah blast case
late on Wednesday, two days after it caught Harshad Bhai Solanki, also
an accused in the Best Bakery case, from a village in Vadodara.

The ATS said Mukesh Vasani, an anti-cow slaughter activist, was picked
up from Godhra. The ATS said he had conducted a recce of the dargah
three days before planting explosives at the famous Sufi shrine. Three
persons had died and 15 injured in the blast that occurred on October
11, 2007.

Sources said Vasani was helped in the planting of bomb by a woman
whose name has not been revealed by the ATS. Sources said police were
probing whether Mukesh too had a role in the Best Bakery case. Over a
dozen Muslims had died when the Bakery was burned down on March 1,
2002 following post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.

The ATS has so far arrested five men, including senior RSS functionary
Indresh Kumar, in the dargah case. Mukesh was on Thursday produced
before an Ajmer court and remanded in police custody till November 6.
The two arrests have left many surprised as the ATS in its dargah
chargesheet has not mentioned the names of the two suspects.

The ATS had recently launched a search for Swami Aseemanand, another
alleged mastermind in the dargah blast, in Dangs area of Gujarat. It
is suspected that Mukesh was in close contact with Aseemanand, who was
heading a campaign against cow-slaughter.

Vasani had allegedly joined Hindu hardliners after the Sabarmati train
carnage at Godhra in 2002 and later got close to Sunil Joshi and Swami
Aseemanand, both key plotters in the Ajmer blast.

Joshi had allegedly given Vasani the responsibility of planting bombs.
"He came to Ajmer before the blast and went to dargah several times to
see the security system and pick the right place to plant the bomb.
Vasani stayed there for three days before the blast and planted the
bomb at at a place where hundreds of devotees had gathered at the
shrine for roza on October 11, 2007," said an ATS source.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Godhra-man-held-for-planting-Ajmer-bomb/articleshow/6874262.cms