Mail Today
28 January 2009
Muthalik- Purohit link reveals Hindutva nexus
By Krishna Kumar in Mumbai
SRI RAM Sene chief Pramod Muthalik, whose goons attacked girls at a Mangalore pub on Saturday, is a close ally of Malegaon blast accused Srikant Prasad Purohit, according to the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS).
A purported conversation recorded between Purohit and an associate, part of the ATS chargesheet filed in court, dwells on the good work done by Muthalik in Karnataka.
ATS officials confirmed Purohit and Muthalik had a meeting in February 2008 in Kolkata. The Sri Ram Sene chief had also made public statements decrying the martyrdom status for Hemant Karkare, the ATS chief who had arrested Malegaon accused Pragya Thakur and Purohit. Muthalik is reported to have said the curse of Pragya, a self-styled godwoman, killed Karkare.
The transcripts — accessed from another Malegaon accused, Dayanand Pandey’s laptop — in possession of the Maharashtra ATS show Purohit, formerly a lieutenant colonel with the Army, singling out Muthalik for praise for toeing the hardline Hindutva agenda of (Purohit’s front) Abhinav Bharat. “There is a group in Karnataka which has been doing very good work. But this good work is being done their own way. These people are associated with the BJP and the Sangh Parivar... the founder had some differences and left Bajrang Dal to form his own Rashtriya Hindu Sene and Sri Ram Sene,” Purohit is quoted as having said.
Muthalik apparently was so well known in Sangh Parivar circles that Purohit’s audience knew who he was referring to. An unidentified voice responded: “Is this person Muthalik?” Purohit’s Sangh Parivar allegiance and his attempt to create alternative organisations to further push the Hinduta ideology are evident in his advice for Muthalik. Responding to the unidentified person’s question, Purohit is quoted as having said, “ Yes, Muthalik. I had only one question to him. You did so much for the Bajrang Dal in Karnataka, but once it grew you were sidelined. So you need to have an alternative… so that the work you are doing is not hampered.” ATS officials said that they have no knowledge of how many times Muthalik and Purohit have met. However, they claimed to know of at least one instance where Purohit was publicly seen with Muthalik. “ This meeting was held in Kolkata in February 2008 by another Hindutva radical Tapan Ghosh, who has formed an organisation called Hindu Samhati,” said an ATS officer.
Interestingly, the two had much in common. Purohit, like Muthalik, was totally opposed to the mushrooming of BPOs and call centres in the country.
The Mangalore- Malegaon link is further lent credence by the fact that Muthalik’s associates are no strangers to terror plots. The Karnataka Police recently arrested a close associate of Mutalik, Nagaraj Jambagi, for being involved in the Hubli blasts of May 2008.
Though Muthalik disowned Jambagi, it remains to be probed whether the two were in touch during the bombing.
