Monday, October 26, 2009

Sanatan ideology a worry: DIG

Sanatan ideology a worry: DIG
TNN, 
PANAJI: With the role of Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha coming under the scanner after two of its "important functionaries" were being accused of carrying explosives that led to the blast in Margao on the eve of Diwali, a senior police official has said there was "something wrong" with the organization's ideology.

"If their active members, who are important functionaries in the Sanstha are involved in the blasts in Margao, then there is definitely something wrong with the ideology of the organization," said DIG Ravindra Yadav.

He said, "There is also something wrong with the philosophy of the organization. Nobody expects that an organization which has members who chant names of gods, read holy scriptures and talk about spirituality, would also have someone like Malgonda Patil and others, who indulge in terrorist activities. "

DIG Yadav said that even in the past, several members of the Sanstha have been accused in blasts in Maharashtra and now important members in Goa are involved in the blast.

Police have said that though they are investigating the role of Sanatan Sanstha, "nowhere have we said that Sanatan is involved in the blast. We have only said that these two persons have linkages with Sanatan".

Sanatan has claimed that Patil, who died in the blast, is not an administrator of the Sanatan ashram. "But he was definitely in a high position in the Sanstha. There is no doubt that Patil is among the top influential persons in the organization," said DIG Yadav.

However, when asked if they have found any evidence linking Patil to the Sanstha and his role in the Sanstha during the raids conducted by Special Investigation Team (SIT), DIG Yadav said, "Investigations are in progress and we are analyzing the evidence".

Meanwhile, police sources said they have come across people who have revealed that Patil claimed to be an administrator of the Sanatan. "When our CID official called up the organization for any information, they would put him in touch with Patil, claiming that he was the administrator, authorized to give information about the organization to outsiders", said police sources.

No arrests have been made so far in connection with the blast. In their latest press release, Sanatan has claimed, "Many Goans have affirmed their support to us. They have realized that the investigation of the Margao blast is being conducted purely from a political perspective and that Sanatan has been held to ransom for it".

However, Sanatan Sanstha's spokesperson Abhay Vartak told TOI, "We are into spiritual science and we have discarded hinsa (violence). Patil was just a prasarak (one who spreads spiritual awareness on behalf of the organization) and staying in the ashram. If the police feel that our philosophy that has inspired lakhs of people is wrong, then thousands of people should have committed the act that Patil is accused of doing by the police".

October 26, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition

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