Tainted Army official quizzed for Nanded blast

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that has reopened the Nanded blast case has questioned Lieutenant Colonel Srikant Purohit, who is an accused in Malegaon case.

The CBI had recently taken Purohit in custody and interrogated him regarding his alleged role in training the activists of RSS and Abhinav Bharat. The blast in Nanded had occurred in 2006.

Four persons were killed and over a dozen injured in the blast at the house of an RSS worker Lakshman Rajkondwar. Rajkondwar's son Naresh and a Bajrang Dal activist Himanshu Panse were allegedly involved in bomb-making.

It was alleged that the explosives and bombs were being assembled for targeting Muslim congregations as a revenge to the terrorist attacks by Muslim groups in India.

After the ATS arrested Abhinav Bharat workers for terrorist activities including bomb blast in Malegaon, the links of Hindutva groups to blats at Ajmer Dargah, Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, Nanded bomb blast, Samjhauta Express train blast and similar other incidents, came under scanner.

The attacks on mosques in Parbhani, Jalna and other places that were earler ignored are also being investigated now. The special crime unit of CBI examined Purohit. Earlier, another Malegaon case accused Rakesh Dhawade has been interrogated.

TIH Bureau