(Asian Age
15 Oct 2006)
‘Police did not probe VHP, Bajrang’
by Our Correspondent
Mumbai, Oct. 14: Most speakers at a seminar on "Malegaon Bomb Blasts: Who is to Blame?" felt the police would never get at the truth because of its one-sided attitude: it did not investigate organisations like the Bajrang Dal, VHP or RSS.
Justice Kolse Patil referred to the haul of 195-kg of RDX in Ahmednagar town on September 2 and the strange facts surrounding this affair. "The man whose godown had stocked this was found dead on September 10 and an employee of his was absconding," he said, adding, "The one-sided attitude of the police and administration itself was proof that the truth would not be arrived at."
Lyricist Javed Akhtar said the police officers investigating the Malegaon blasts were quick to rule out the possibility that the bombs might have been the handiwork of the Bajrang Dal, which has been active in the Marathwada region. "Does RDX have a special stamp establishing its link to Muslims," Mr Akhtar asked. Referring to the SMS circulating since 7/11 that said "Every Muslim is not a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim," he asked whether Naxalites, Maoists, ULFA and LTTE militants were all Muslims. "Are those responsible for the Gujarat riots just firemen then," he asked.
The meeting had been jointly organised by the Maulana Azad Research Centre, Malegaon; National Awakening for Develop-ment of Youth, Malegaon; Communalism Combat; Citizens for Justice and Peace; and Muslims for Secular Democracy.
Maulana Azhari said he was in favour of keeping a close watch on SIMI. However, he demanded that the police also keep an equally close watch on the activities of the VHP, Bajrang Dal and RSS.
Ms Teesta Setalvad, co-editor of Communalism Combat, said, "Many questions need to be answered, and one issue is that even the VHP, Bajrang Dal and RSS were making bombs and were responsible for bomb blasts in mosques in 2004 and 2005. We are not trying to say Muslims are not involved in bomb blasts, but an investigating agency cannot close its eyes and ears to Hindu organisations creating another kind of terror. We have a right to ask them."