Samjhauta Express bombing carried out by indian army officer

[ejaz007]

Indian police quiz serving colonel in mosque blast
By Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Oct 30: Federal police are investigating a serving lieutenant colonel of the Indian army for his alleged role in last month’s mystery blast near a mosque in Malegaon, Press Trust of India said on Thursday.

It said the army has allowed the police to question him. In a press release the army announced on Thursday it was giving “full cooperation” to the police and facilitating his questioning.

The army decision, PTI said, comes on a request from the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Maharashtra police which has already arrested Ramesh Upadhaya, a retired army major from Pune in connection with theblast.

The news agency quoted the Deputy Army Chief Lt Gen S P S Dhillon as telling reporters that the army headquarters had not received any official communication on the issue.

“While no formal application has been received from the police authorities, the Army HQ has decided to extend full cooperation and facilitate interaction of the officer with the investigating officials of the police,” the army release said.

Accordingly, the officer has been moved to Mumbai to facilitate interaction at a mutually convenient place, it said. The officer was posted at the Army Education Corps School in Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP-ruled state from where rightwing activists have been arrested for alleged collusion in the bomb plot.

The army said further action would be taken if needed. “The Army headquarters will continue to provide all assistance to the investigating agency, as and when required by them,” it said.

PTI said that in the course of probe by police in the Malegaon blasts some inputs of possible linkages of a serving army officer with suspects had come to light. Accordingly the police sought to interact with the officer concerned and seek clarifications from him to proceed with further investigations.

Indian police quiz serving colonel in mosque blast -DAWN - Top Stories; October 31, 2008

 

[s90]

lol

 

[Neo]

Indian army concerned by colonel’s arrest over bombing ​

MUMBAI: India’s defence minister voiced concern on Friday about the alleged role of an army colonel in funding and providing explosives to a right-wing Hindu group accused of bombing a Muslim town.

Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit was arrested by anti-terror police on Wednesday in connection with the September 29 bombing near a mosque that killed six people and injured scores of others in Malegaon in western India. “This incident is a matter of serious concern,” Defence Minister AK Antony told reporters. “We are very determined to go to the root of the whole thing.”

Anti-terror police in the state of Maharashtra, where the predominantly Muslim town is located, have asked the army for permission to question two other serving army officers, news channel NDTV reported Friday. The army is viewed by many Indians as a bastion of secular incorruptibility. Purohit stands charged with siphoning funds to a little-known radical Hindu outfit, several of whose members have been arrested for actually carrying out the bombing.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred in an area where relations between Hindus and Muslims have been strained in recent years. Two years ago, simultaneous bombings in the town killed 38 people and wounded more than 100. Most of the victims were Muslims. afp

 

[p2prada]

Proves that anti-terror laws here are very strict.

 

[courageneverdies]

Own military involved in such incidents.

A shame!!!!!

They should be punished strictly if found guilty of killing innocent people.

KIT

 

[p2prada]

He claimed that his motivation was revenge.

 

[Vinod2070]

Well this was waiting to happen, the emergence of some Hindu outfit that would get provoked enough to resort to revenge terror.

Sad but kind of unavoidable.

 

[daredevil]

Its a Shame. Once proved guilty, should be punished just like anyone.

 

[p2prada]

Looks like a court martial in the making.

 

[BanglaBhoot]

By Allabaksh - Syndicate Features

The arrest of a serving Lieutenant Colonel in connection with a case of attack by ‘terrorists’ is a matter of double worry. It dents the image of the Indian Army, which has rightly prided itself on its discipline, professionalism and secularism. It indicates that the potentially very explosive and harmful mix of hate and revenge is percolating down to virtually all segments of a society including those who swear by secularism.

As has become the practice now in dealing with high-profile ‘terror’ related cases the media has played up the arrest of Lt-Col Purohit, complete with details of his ‘confession’ before the police interrogators. According to his alleged ‘confession’, which has no legal standing, he has accepted that he was involved in the blasts in Malegaon in Maharashtra and Modasa in Gujarat, which had together taken a toll of eight lives. He did that because he was overpowered by a desire to take ‘revenge’.

He was instrumental in setting up, recruiting and training members for Abhinav Bharat, said to be a ‘Hindu extremist’ organisation and, finally, he is also supposed to have provided RDX and weapons for the two above mentioned blasts.

Whether all that is a fact or not will be established after his trial, which may well extend to several years. But many will be inclined to feel that at least some of the ‘story’ sounds plausible if he was really possessed by a strong sense of ‘revenge’. In that case it should be a matter of worry for the Indian Army as to how an otherwise competent and good officer who got all his promotions on merit has deviated to a parallel but clandestine path? How could an officer supply RDX from army depots without anyone detecting it? That an officer in the Military Intelligence (Lt-Col Purohit) could find time to moonshine as a ‘trainer’ in another ‘military’ school would suggest the failure of the counter-intelligence. All certainly food for thought for the army top brass.

There are also matters that the civil society and the ruling classes should also ponder. Is it that the long sustained campaign of certain political and other ‘organisations’ has contributed to transforming not only officers and men in uniform but many other otherwise bright young men and women into bigoted communalists ready to take ‘revenge’?

With terrorism showing no sign of abating, the need of the hour is to spread the message of reason and tolerance. But our politicians are competing with each other in doing just the opposite. Terrorism has become a subject of scoring brownie points or exploitation for consolidating vote banks.

Of course, it may not be entirely true to say that the Indian Army has been completely free of the virus of communalism and the idea of ‘revenge’—just as it may still be premature to see the arrest of Lt.-Col. Purohit as ‘proof’ that the Indian army is saddled with religious fanatics or people determined to take ‘revenge’. If a survey was conducted today the majority of the men and women in the armed forces of India would still be found to be ‘secular’, bearing no hatred towards any religion or a group; they may feel strongly about certain things but ‘revenge’ is not on their minds.

Nonetheless, if conversations with some of the retired army personnel are anything to go by, the disease of hatred and communalism does seem to have seeped into the armed forces in some form at least. During the height of Khalistani movement many Sikh soldiers (jawans) had deserted the army, a unit based in Patna doing so more dramatically killing officers because he belonged to a different religion. Yet, as far as one knows the officer class of the Indian Army has always kept its cool even during volatile days and religious upheavals.

As for the jawans it is hard to imagine that they are able to take it all philosophically when they read or hear that their religious compatriots have been beaten or killed in riots. The ordinary soldier comes from a background where he has lived with all kinds of deprivations. It should not surprise if he carries traces of his anger or bitterness even after receiving rigorous physical training and lessons in patriotism and discipline.

By and large the officers are drawn from a comparatively privileged section and therefore there is a difference in the response of a soldier and that of an officer. The jawan, lately under increasing psychological stress, may be easily moved emotionally and may be inclined to react swiftly to a situation that he sees as adverse or undesirable. But an officer—and that too one holding the rank of a commanding officer—is not expected to be stung instantly and breach the code of discipline in responding to a particular situation that his community, cast or religious group might have faced. His responses are expected to be both sober and measured.

All officers of the Indian armed forces are trained in a ‘secular’ atmosphere. It has been a tradition in the Indian armed forces that politics and religion are not topics to be heard or discussed in the mess and the barracks. The military in India has only one purpose to serve: to defend the frontiers of the country. Other things like going after subversive elements within the country or fighting a natural disaster are their secondary jobs, while dabbling in politics of any nature is a strict no-no.

The Indian Army recruits its manpower from all communities; it is possible that some communities feel that they have not been adequately represented in the armed forces. There may be a feeling that the representation of some communities is disproportionately low. But this is a matter that the political executive has to grapple with.

Though many are inclined to dismiss it as a colonial hangover, the practice of keeping the men in uniform off politics and religion has stood the armed forces and the country well. If some men in uniform do have grievances on behalf of their community they are not expected to air them or take matters into their hands while in service, unless we want to see the Indian armed forces considerably weakened, and with it, the nation.

- Asian Tribune -

Slur On Indian Army | Asian Tribune

 

[BanglaBhoot]

The Body Politic In Uniform

The armed forces aren't completely impervious to political winds ......

V.R. Raghavan

The terror attack in Malegaon has had an unexpected military consequence. A few military officers, at least one still in service, are under scrutiny for involvement. This is a revelation of, and a cause for serious concern about, the extent to which communal animosity has pervaded the nation’s polity. The subsequent discourse has, however, focused only on the politicisation of the army and the defence forces. What does the involvement of these officers in terror attacks—yet to be proved—portend for the armed forces’ stability and apolitical identity?

The links between terrorism, communal animosity and politicisation of the armed forces are tenuous. The forces have largely been free from demands to adapt their actions to political agendas—despite occasional pressure to selectively intensify or scale down operations in insurgency-hit areas when elections approach or negotiations are on. Military commanders have effectively resisted this, and the junior leadership is wholly free of partisan action. This neutrality makes the army a preferred choice of people in riot-hit areas. When the political leadership wants to keep communal riots going, it has often delayed the deployment of the army.

What could have motivated the officers allegedly involved in the Malegaon attack? Surely, it was not patriotism. Was it then an ultra-nationalism of a narrow kind, influenced by the identity politics being practised in the country? And if a religion-based divide got the better of the officers’ professional judgement, is the malady widely prevalent in the army? The answers need to be found in empirical evidence.

The armed forces function through rational action determined by military necessity, not political ideology or communal sentiment. This notwithstanding, arguments about the politicisation of the military have been frequently put forth in all democracies. When Gen David Petraeus testified before the US Congress to justify the troops surge in Iraq, there were accusations that the George W. Bush administration was politicising the military.

In India, the extensive use of the army in internal security duties is thought to expose it to the risk of politicisation. Promotions and postings, too, have not been free of such insinuations. After the Golden Temple operations, there was anger and hurt amongst Sikh troops and officers. Some had mutinied, some deserted and there was at least one senior retired officer who had lived with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in the holy shrine. But the armed forces were not politicised by that serious breakdown of discipline. Neither has the use of the army to halt communal riots resulted in its communalisation or politicisation. The conclusion being drawn by some that the Malegaon episode is proof of the armed forces’ politicisation misses the important challenges faced by the Indian state.

The political leadership has largely been unable to envisage a genuinely inclusive democratic process delinked from identity politics. Armed forces personnel are witness to this, as much as anyone else. The effects of virulent identity-based political rhetoric are to a large measure counterbalanced by the model of secular identity preserved in the armed forces. This sustains the faith of armed forces personnel in the ideals of the Indian state. But it cannot wholly immunise every individual against the ill winds in the polity.

Officers who were unable to rise above that communal and vengeful rhetoric allowed themselves to be involved in Malegaon. It will not be surprising if one learns that such retired officers were in fact targeted as potential facilitators by interested groups. The Bhonsala Military School in Nashik, where meetings and the training for terrorist acts allegedly took place, is not under the military.It is one of many civilian institutions propagating a narrow form of nationalism. If some retired officers join such an effort, it’s a case of individual failure of loyalty to the state they swore to defend.

These unfortunate exceptions do not prove politicisation of the army, but their import cannot be minimised. Relentless communalising of politics and politicisation of governance is causing serious damage. It is beginning to affect the values by means of which the citizens adhere to the state. The armed forces, instruments of state power, are clearly at risk of being affected by the growing mismatch between the ideals they adhere to and the practice they witness.

The Body Politic In Uniform : outlookindia.com

 

[BanglaBhoot]

Editorial: Prospects of Hindu terrorism in India

At least 10 people, including a serving Lieutenant Colonel Prashad Srikant Purohit and a Hindu monk and nun, have been arrested over alleged involvement in bomb explosions that killed four people in the Muslim-dominated town of Malegaon in the western Maharashtra state in India. The network is linked to another arrested former major Ramesh Upadhyay who represents the terrorist organisation Abhinav Bharat. The accused Lt Col Purohit is also being investigated over a bomb attack in February 2007 that killed 68 people on the Samjhauta Express, a “friendship” train between Delhi and Lahore, killing mostly Pakistani passengers. Investigators fear that the trail will go on to net more serving and retired officers.

The colonel has confessed to the Samjhauta Express blast and foreclosed the “options” of “conspiracy” screamed by some Hindutva politicians. Col Purohit has also confessed to training Hindu terrorists who had taken to attacking Muslims and has told investigators that he not only trained the Samjhauta Express terrorists, he also supplied them with the explosives to do the job. The intent he says was to cause armed conflict between Pakistan and India so that anti-Muslim passions could be nurtured in India, leading to violence.

Indian analysts are now worried about Hindu terrorism. Some of it has been on display for a long time against the Muslim community. Some of it is recent, targeting Christian missionaries and Christian converts. Because of the rise of Hindu fundamentalism in the 1980s, or a revival of old Hindu supremacist thinkers like Savarkar, who was behind the killing of Gandhi, India is now open to terrorism that is lashing out at the state. People are accustomed to voting the BJP to power as an alternative to the Congress and that in turn empowers the grand Hindu fundamentalist alliance called the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) that contains such extremist outfits as Bajrang Dal.

The Indian state of Gujarat that supplied India with some of its great moderate leaders and gave birth to the trading elite that has brought great prestige to the country, is now ruled by the BJP even after its government was found complicit in the carnage of Muslims. What will Hindu terrorism look like if, God forbid, it should spread into other provinces and the state proves too weak to tackle it? Will it take the shape of the Taliban violence in Pakistan? Will the Indian state be forced to retreat in the face of the terrorists because of its vulnerability to religion? Will the terrorists use intimidation to force the civilian population to elect extremists to power?

While terrorism derives strength from the general disorder prevailing around the globe, the Indian state was thought to be different, being secular constitutionally. But the rise of Hindu fundamentalists has begun to challenge the state and Indian analysts worry that there may be greater penetration of Hindutva ideology in the armed forces. The BJP has been wooing officers and brought into its fold many former generals, giving them tickets to contest elections for Lok Sabha. One former general affiliated with the BJP is a chief minister and one former governor S K Sinha stirred communal passions to a point where the Indian Held Kashmir is up in protest against New Delhi. There is no central dogma in Hinduism which the Hindu terrorist can refer to but Hindutva is being transformed into a dogmatic creed with Hindus agreeing to kill non-Hindus. Given that Lt Col Purohit was working in the Military Intelligence Directorate, the possibility of the intelligence agencies having been tainted can hardly be ignored.

Political parties like the BJP have built upon the idea of the Hindu state on the basis of an ideology that indicts the Muslims for having ruled India and imposed their religion on the local population. What is happening today is the high point of this “reaction” to the state’s alleged “pampering” of the Muslim minority even though the Muslims of India are a most backward and disadvantaged community and need affirmative action from the secular state to improve their lot. This “reactive” terrorism may not terrorise the world directly but if it gets out of hand within the region, it will have an indirect larger impact by spurring on the Muslim fundamentalists that are already gearing up for an Armageddon. It could also suck in Bangladesh.

On the plus side, the discovery of a connection between the Indian army and the Hindu fundamentalist could galvanise New Delhi into adopting a new policy that reduces focus on Pakistan as the origin of all such violence in India. The unravelling of the mystery of the Samjhauta Express blasts will hopefully bring India and Pakistan together and reduce their mutual recrimination. Once this trend subsides, the populations of the two countries will be freed from the rhetoric of hatred and distrust released by the two states against each other. Hatred of Pakistan in India feeds upon the constant refrain of “Pakistani involvement” in the bomb explosions in the various Indian cities that are later owned by local organisations. *

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[BanglaBhoot]

Purohit told me about pilfering RDX: Army Capt

MUMBAI/NASHIK: The anti-terrorism squad investigating the recent Malegaon bomb blasts has recorded the statement of arrested Lt-Col Shrikant
Purohit's colleague Capt Nitin Joshi who reportedly said that Purohit had told him about pilfering RDX.

According to sources, the statement was recorded by a magistrate, which makes it admissible as evidence during the trial. DGP A N Roy told TOI: "Since the statement is not incriminating Joshi himself, it needs to be verified.'' Roy refused to disclose further details about Joshi's background and posting saying he is a witness and not an accused.

Meanwhile, Purohit was on Tuesday handed over to the Pune anti-terrorism squad. Purohit, the alleged mastermind of the Malegaon blast, was produced before chief judicial magistrate H K Gantra in Nashik on Tuesday.

The Pune ATS sought Purohit's custody to investigate a case of forgery and cheating. The ATS said its Pune unit was probing a case of forging documents against Purohit. Arrested on November 5, the 38-year-old officer who was earlier accused of acting as a middleman to collect and distribute money for terrorist activities and also impart training in assembling explosives, was brought to the court amid tight security at 3.45 pm.

Wearing a blue T-shirt and black jeans, Purohit, whose face was covered did not complain about anything when joint civil judge H K Ganatra asked him if he had any complaints against the ATS.

Defence lawyer Avinash Bhide argued that the accused had already been under illegal detention earlier and since the Mumbai ATS had completed its interrogation in connection with the Malegaon blast case, there was no reason to hand him over to the Pune ATS in the same case.

Pointing out that in such a situation, Purohit's police custody would never end, the defence lawyer said that in the absence of the designated court, the interim court should not pass the order of handing the accused to the Pune ATS. Purohit is likely to be produced before a Pune Court on Wednesday. Purohit is accused of attending several meetings where the conspiracy of Malegaon blast is suspected to have been hatched. Moreover, the police said that he was also involved in a Rs 10 lakh hawala transaction and the money was used in the blast.

Another accused in the Malegaon blast, Sameer Kulkarni, who is under judicial custody till November 29 was shifted to the Khadki police station in Pune in connection with a case of assault on a pastor pending against him there.

Alleging violation of human rights during the interrogation of all the accused in the Malegaon Blast case, advocate Vijay Gaikwad moved an application in the Nashik court seeking examination of the case papers. The court will pass an order on his request on Wednesday.

Purohit told me about pilfering RDX: Army Capt- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

 

[Awesome]

Proves that anti-terror laws here are very strict.

It proves that there are a-holes in India who blamed us for this massacre!

From the Pakistani perspective, this really pisses us off and gives us a sense of vindication. Your own Hindu nationalists are inciting the people against Pakistan by conducting these bombings throughout India.

 

[Nihat]

Victims are caught and will be punished , if we as a nation were so narrow minded that we believed one religion could do no wrong , then this incident would have been buried under the sand a very long time back.

The fact that it is being investigated so publicly is testament to the fact that we are not ashamed of our Secular Identity.