Maha wants Sanatan Sanstha, Abhinav Bharat in terror list—ToI-19.9.11

Vishwa Mohan TNN

New Delhi: Maharashtra Police has recommended to the state government that two right wing radical groups – Sanatan Sanstha and Abhinav Bharat – be included in the category of banned terrorist outfits under anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The name of Sanatan Sanstha had come up in the Goa blast case of 2009 while Abhinav Bharat figured in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
Some members of Abhinav Bharat including Lt Col Srikant Purihit, Ajay Rahirkar, Ramesh Upadhyay and Sammer Kulkarni were charged by the ATS and CBI in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Similarly, the National Investigation Agency had charged 11 members of Sanatan Sanstha in the Goa blast case.
As many as 35 terror outfits, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohamed, al-Qaida, Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi) and Indian Mujahideen, are in the category of banned terror outfits under UAPA, 1967.
Maharashtra Police’s move was disclosed by the Union home ministry in response to a Parliament question during the monsoon session early this month.
Minister of state for home affairs Jitendra Singh had said, “The matters are still under investigation. However, with reference to ‘Sanatan Sanstha’ and ‘Abhinav Bharat’, as per available information, Maharashtra Police has recommended to the government of Maharashtra to include these organizations in the schedule of terrorist organizations under Section 35 of the UAPA, 1967.”
The question was asked specifically on action being taken by the government against organizations whose names figured in bomb blast cases, and whether such outfits would be banned.
The minister, at the same time, said that the name no specific organization was yet confirmed in investigations into the Samjhauta, Mecca Masjid (Hyderabad) and Ajmer Sharif bomb blast cases. He said, “However, among the accused persons in these cases like Swami Aseemanand, Devendra Gupta and Lokesh Sharma, who have been arrested and chargesheeted, were reportedly earlier involved in the activities of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).”
The NIA has already filed chargesheets in these three cases. In case of the 2006 Malegaon blast, the Mumbai ATS and CBI had charged SIMI activists for the terror act.