September 29 Malegaon blast and Dayanand Pandey alias Sudhakar Dwivedi

‘Swami’ asked Lt-Col Purohit to get explosives Times of India. 15 Nov 2008, 0202 hrs IST, Prafulla Marpakwar & Mateen Hafeez, TNN

NASHIK/MUMBAI: Self-proclaimed seer Dayanand Pandey alias Sudhakar Dwivedi had directed Lt-Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit to arrange for explosives. Pandey had also arranged a meeting between Purohit and wanted accused Ramji in August this year, a month before the Malegaon blast, public prosecutor Ajay Misar told a Nashik court on Friday. ( Watch ) Pandey, who styled himself as a shankaracharya, Swami Amritanand Dev Teerth Maharaj, was arrested from Kanpur on Thursday for his alleged role in the September 29 Malegaon blast that killed six and injured 101. He was produced before chief judicial magistrate H K Gantra who remanded him in police custody till November 26. The court also granted permission to subject Pandey to narco analysis, brain-mapping and polygraph tests after he said he was ready to undergo any test. ‘‘During their investigations, the police have found that Pandey had directed Purohit to arrange for explosives,’’ Misar told the court. The police alleged that Purohit was involved in the conspiracy of the Malegaon blast. Purohit is the first serving officer to be arrested in this case. So far the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) has arrested 10 persons including retired Major Ramesh Upadhyaya and sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. Pandey is believed to have told ATS sleuths that he had joined the Air Force wing of the NDA in 1989 but dropped out in 1990. The police claimed to have recovered a boarding pass of Kingfisher Airlines, a cheque book, a pass book, an ATM card, a debit card, a passport and a pen drive from Pandey. Cops are scrutinising the pen drive’s contents and bank account details. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said it has figured out how Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit had procured RDX used in the Malegaon blast. The ATS also revealed that some of the accused had drafted a plot to kill a prominent Delhi-based Hindu activist and identified a Madhya Pradesh-based Hindu leader, who was allegedly involved in the October 2007 Ajmer blast. ''After the arrest of Purohit and Dayanand Pandey, we have adequate evidence to establish not only their involvement but also the vital role played by Pragya Singh Thakur in the Malegaon blast,'' a senior IPS official told TOI on Friday. He said Purohit had admitted that he procured RDX from Pune-based Muslim activists and then handed it over to pro-Hindu activists. ''It appears that Purohit used his own network for procuring RDX. We have identified all the persons involved in providing RDX to Purohit. It was also found that the youth have contacts in Kashmir. We will book them in a day or two,'' the IPS official said. It was revealed that some of the accused had drafted a plot to eliminate a Delhi-based Hindu leader. ''We were stunned to know about the plot. We have already shared the information with the authorities in Delhi,'' he said. The ATS also has information that a Hindu leader from MP was allegedly involved in the October 2007 Ajmer blast. ''The accused told the ATS about the Ajmer blast. They have disclosed the name of the activist, he was murdered six months ago,'' the official said. On the role of Pandey, the official said he came under the scanner nearly 20 days ago following information disclosed by Pragya and other accused. ''After it was confirmed that he too played a key role in the Malegaon blast, we detained him in Kanpur,'' he said. The IPS officer made it clear that while no elected representative has been involved in the blast, it was a fact that prominent religious leaders were directly or indirectly associated with the blast. ''We have identified two prominent pro-Hindu leaders. We are monitoring their activities and they will be detained at the appropriate time,'' he said.