Right-Wing Hindu Activist Held in Maharashtra With Explosives
Vaibhav Raut, a member of ‘Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti’, was apprehended from Nallasopara on Thursday night.
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The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has questioned at least 16 people for their possible links to the three men arrested for allegedly planning to carry out blasts in the state, a police official said on Saturday, 11 August.
The ATS on Thursday, 9 August, arrested a member of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) and seized a huge quantity of explosives from his residence at Nallasopara in Palghar district of the state, PTI reported.
Vaibhav Raut, a member of the group was apprehended from Bhandar Aali in Nallasopara West on Thursday night, an official said. While Raut's purported social media account mentioned he was associated with the right-wing group Sanatan Sanstha, but the group has denied he was its member, reported PTI. A court in Mumbai has now remanded the three men in ATS custody till 18 August.
"ATS sleuths raided his residence and shop, where they found huge quantity of explosives, including crude bombs. Some literature was also seized," the police official told PTI.
Raw Material Enough to Make 50 Bombs Recovered
According to Maharashtra Times, 20 country bombs and the raw material required to make more than 50 bombs have been recovered from Raut. A manual that lists instructions to make bombs has also been recovered. Another manual was recovered from Kalaskar’s house.
The trio was reportedly hatching a conspiracy, which involves the use of these bombs, in Pune, Satara, Nallasopara and Solapur, Maharashtra Times reported.
Conspiracy to Harass a Hindu Outfit Activist: HJS
In a statement, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) termed Raut's arrest "Malegaon part II".
The Malegaon case centres around the 29 September 2008 bomb explosion near Bhiku Chowk in the Muslim-dominated Malegaon town of Nashik district, which killed six people and injured 101 others.
"Vaibhav Raut is a daring cow protector. He was active through an organisation – Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti – dedicated to the protection of cows," HJS state organiser Sunil Ghanvat said, adding, "He used to participate in the programmes and agitations organised through uniting Hindu organisations under the aegis of HJS."
He, however, claimed that Raut had not participated in any of the programmes for the last few months.
"Considering the news being disseminated today, it has created doubt whether the arrest of Vaibhav Raut is an instance of Malegaon part II," he said.
Raut’s defence lawyer, Sanjiv Punalekar too, alleged foul play. “They say FIR was registered at 2:30 am today (Friday), accused was arrested at 3:30 pm and raid was conducted last night around 8 pm, so how can they raid without FIR? There was no search warrant when they raided my client's house,” Punalekar told ANI.
(With inputs from Maharashtra Times, ANI and PTI)
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