Social Democratic Party of India

The Hindu Special Correspondent 31/05/2010

JAIPUR: Civil rights activists organised a symposium on “Rajasthan in the grip of saffron terrorism” and took out a rally here on Sunday demanding a thorough and exhaustive probe into the October 2007 Ajmer dargah and May 2008 Jaipur blasts to catch the real culprits and masterminds, who they said were still at large.

The rally from Shaheed Smarak to Civil Lines was organised by the Social Democratic Party of India, which also demanded immediate release of innocent Muslim young men put behind bars on charges of involvement in unlawful activities and payment of compensation to those wrongfully detained.

SDPI national president E. Abu Bakar said the State Government had itself admitted that the 13 persons charged with unlawful activities were not involved in the blasts. The rallyists submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot demanding a fresh investigation into the Jaipur blasts following the Ajmer blast probe which has thrown up the names of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ‘pracharaks'.

Speakers at the symposium, analysing the investigation of Ajmer blast, said the Anti-Terrorism Squad of Rajasthan police was not collecting hard and clinching evidence against RSS, while the three accused arrested by it were active members of Abhinav Bharat supported by the Sangh Parivar. Even after cracking the Ajmer case, the ATS is silent about its connection with the Malegaon and Hyderabad's Makkah Masjid blasts.

Feroze Mithiborewala of Mumbai-based Bharat Bachao Andolan said the investigators should pay attention to “political context” of each terror attack in the country to reach their masterminds. He said the Hindutva terrorism coming to light had international ramifications with the geo-political map of the world being redrawn by imperialist forces.

Delhi-based activist Subhash Gatade expressed surprise over the lack of follow-up on Rajasthan Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal's charge against RSS about involvement in the Ajmer blast. He said the innocent Muslims framed in both the Ajmer and Jaipur cases should raise their voice for compensation and punishment to the guilty police officers.

Kavita Srivastava of People's Union for Civil Liberties said the arrest of three accused having links with the Hindu outfits in the Ajmer case had proved that an Abhinav Bharat module was active in the State. Rajasthan High Court lawyer A. K. Jain said the State police had found “open and clear leads” in 2008 pointing to the involvement of Hindutva groups in the Ajmer bombing, but it picked up innocent Muslim youths and tortured them. “The recent removal of three officers from the team indicates that the ATS wants to hide some facts.”