Times of India, 23 October 2008
Former VHP woman owned motorcycle used in Malegaon blast: Cops
by Prafulla Marpakwar & Mateen Hafeez
MUMBAI: Nearly a month after motorcycle bomb blasts killed six in the textile town of Malegaon the state home department is in possession of speci
fic clues that point to the involvement of right-wing Hindu groups in the blasts.
Three suspects detained in Indore, one of whom is a young woman, have been brought to the city. ‘‘We have good clues on the involvement of people in the Malegaon bomb blasts. Our teams are still camping in Madhya Pradesh. We are working very carefully. We are sure we are near the target and our exercise will be over in a day. If we are satisfied, we will detain them immediately,’’ a top IPS official told TOI on Thursday.
According to reports, the state police had initially detained five people. After a preliminary probe, two were let off. What came as a shock to investigating officials was that of the three detained, one was a woman, Pragya Singh, aged between 25 and 30 years. Singh is believed to be a former member of the Durga Vahini, the women’s wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
The motorcycle used in the bomb blast allegedly belonged to her. Details such as the registration and chassis numbers had been removed with chemicals, but with the help of forensics, investigating officials succeeded in retrieving the numbers. It is learnt that two suspects came to Malegaon from Indore and checked into a lodge before the blasts.
‘‘We don’t know if these people were directly involved in the blasts, but preliminary investigations reveal that at the very least, they played a peripheral role,’’ he said.
The ATS team (Nashik unit) led by inspector Rajan Ghule has been camping in Indore for the past three weeks. Sukhvindar Singh, additional commissioner of police, ATS, said, ‘‘The investigation is at a crucial stage and we will disclose details at an appropriate time.’’
A day after the blasts in the communally sensitive town, a number of prominent Muslim leaders had alleged that pro-Hindu organisations were directly behind the killings.
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