ATS submits detailed, damning dossier against Sanatan Sanstha

Details of Narendra Dabholkar's murder case will also be added to the report

A month after the state government submitted a negative report on Sanatan Sanstha to the Centre, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is preparing a detailed one of its own, mentioning all of the organisation's alleged criminal activities. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted its application to the ATS, as sought by it, soon after the former slapped various sections of the UAPA on the accused arrested in rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder case.

Taking information from that, the ATS is readying a fresh report that will have details of Nalasopara arms haul, Dabholkar and Gauri Lankesh cases. It will be submitted to the state after the ATS files the charge sheet in the Nalasopara case. The special court, on November 3, had granted the agency a 30-day extension for filing the charge sheet.

The CBI, in its application, has linked the accused arrested in Dabholkar case with Sanatan Sanshta and Hindu Janjagruti Samiti. Six people have been arrested in the murder case, and Sanatan member Dr. Virendra Tawde has been named as the main conspirator.

A top state government source confirmed to mid-day, "We have already sent a few of our reports on Sanatan Sanshtha and its link in the Nalasopara case to the Centre. A detailed report is being prepared and will be submitted soon. It will be a very effective dossier after the charge sheet. It was clear in the investigation how these accused had planned to blow up a music event in Pune, Padmaavat screening and terror activities in other cities.

"We will be including details of Dabholkar murder case in the report, as the agency has invoked the UAPA against all the accused. A few of the accused arrested by the Bengaluru SIT in the Lankesh murder case are linked to the Nalasopara case as well; all this will be included in the report." The Sanatan Sanstha, however, has repeatedly denied any link to any of these cases.

Behind bars
The ATS on August 10 arrested three people - Vaibhav Raut, a member of Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti, Sharad Kalaskar and Sudhanva Gondhalekar - with a huge quantity of arms and ammunition from Nalasopara and Pune. Later, the ATS also arrested former Sena corporator Shrikant Pangarkar and other accused - Amol Kale (also accused in Lankesh murder case), Amit Baddi, Ganesh Miskin, Avinash Pawar, Sujeth Kumar, Bharat Kurne, Vasudev Suryanshi and Leeladhar Lodhi.

Multiple calls for a ban
The state had submitted two dossiers in the past, seeking a ban on Sanatan Sanstha under the UAPA, but the Centre had sought more concrete information. The first dossier was sent in 2011, when the UPA was in power and Prithviraj Chavan was the CM. In 2015, the BJP-Sena government had sent the second one. The 2011 dossier mentions Sanatan's alleged involvement in an IED attack at Cineraj Cinema in Panvel in 2008 during the screening of the movie Jodha Akbar, an explosion at Vishnudas Bhave auditorium on May 31, 2008, and another inside the parking lot of Ram Ganesh Gadkari auditorium.

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