On Thursday, April 6, a powerful explosion took place in
the middle class Patbandhare Nagar locality of Taroda gram panchayat in
Nanded at the residence of LG Rajkondwar, a retired executive engineer of
the irrigation department. The explosion was so severe that people in a
two-kilometre vicinity came out of their homes fearing an earthquake.
Two youth, Himanshu Panse (27) and Naresh Rajkondwar (26),
died on the spot and three, Yogesh Deshpande (24), Maruti Wagh (23) and
Gururaj Tuptewar (25), were badly injured. The body of one of the
deceased, Himanshu Panse, was blown into pieces while another, Naresh
Rajkondwar, had a massive hole in his chest. Only the concrete structure
of the house was left intact, everything else in the house was destroyed.
To the utter disbelief of residents, the police said that
one of those killed in the blast used to sell ‘crackers’ during Diwali, he
had stored them in his bedroom, and since he was alone at home he had
invited his friends over… One of them threw a cigarette, the ‘crackers’
caught fire and blasted in a single explosion without leaving a single
piece of paper or other remnants of the ‘crackers’ at the site!
Nanded’s police superintendent, Fattesinh Patil repeatedly
narrated this story before the media and categorically denied the chances
of any bomb or terrorist activity. Some newspapers however raised doubts
about it.
In the meantime it became clear beyond any doubt that the
killed and injured youth were activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP),
Bajrang Dal and RSS. Leaders of these outfits visited the hospitals to see
the injured and issued condolence statements; they said that the men were
active workers of their organisations and their deaths were a great loss
to them. They participated in the funerals of the dead. Later, prant
sanghchalak of the RSS, Anna Gosavi confessed that the accused were
affiliated to the RSS.
Bomb-making centre
The next day when along with the SP and other senior
police officials, press reporters, a few politicians and many from the
general public the police was searching the house, it found a live IED
(Improvised Explosive Device) bomb. The same day, special inspector
general of police, Suryapratap Gupta called a press conference and
declared that it was really a bomb blast. The youth were trying to
fabricate the pipe bomb and due to erroneous handling of a remote control
device the explosion took place.
The police carried out raids on the residences of the
other killed and injured youth. During the raids a diary was found that
reportedly contained bomb fabrication techniques. Reportedly, police also
found fake beards and moustaches. They were probably meant to mislead the
police that the bombs were being made and exploded by people of a
particular community. (This is significant in view of the fact that there
had been tension between Muslims and Sikhs in Nanded in the weeks
preceding the accidental blast.) It was also found that one of the
injured, Maruti Wagh, had earlier tried to set a Navratri mandap
ablaze with the same intention of creating communal tension.
On April 11, special IG police, Suryapratap Gupta
disclosed that a bomb-manufacturing centre (bomb nirmiti kendra)
had been operational at Rajkondwar’s house. He said this centre had been
functioning for quite some time. He said one of the injured had
categorically confessed to having made many such bombs earlier. Gupta said
he was waiting for the recovery of the others injured, as they could
disclose useful information about the centre.
The police suspect that previous blasts that took place on
the eve of jumma prayers in the masjids of Parbhani (April 25,
2003, injured 25) and neighbouring Purna and Jalna (August 21, 2004,
injured 18) were initiated from this centre itself.
Role of the police
The role of the police in the entire episode is surprising
and depicts the bias and one-sidedness of the forces. It first fabricated
a ridiculous story that nobody would ever believe. The big question is why
an officer of the rank of superintendent of police so bluntly tried to
misguide the media and the public. It was only after a live bomb was found
that special IG, Gupta declared that it was a bomb blast.
The charges against the accused are trivial when compared
to the gravity of the offence. First, they were booked under sections 286,
304(A), 337 and 338 of the IPC. Later, section 120(B) was also added.
Although the IG has declared that the accused were running a permanent
bomb-manufacturing centre in the city, nobody was booked under MCOCA. The
people arrested comprise those who were injured and their relatives and
friends. So far the police have been unable to arrest the people who
financed and backed the bomb-manufacturing centre.
It is beyond any doubt that the accused were, till their
death, actively working for the RSS and Bajrang Dal, and leaders of the
said organisations were on close terms with the accused. This implies that
they could not have been ignorant of a permanent bomb-manufacturing centre
being operated from the home of one of their active workers who is now
dead. Despite this clear indication, the police have not taken any action
against the said organisations and their leaders. It has raised serious
questions about not only the working and efficiency of the police but also
the integrity and professionalism of the officials concerned.
Role of political organisations
Even after the police detected a live bomb in the presence
of several media persons and the general public, the Shiv Sena continued
to maintain that it was not a bomb blast at all. It was only a ‘cracker’
blast! The BJP MP from Nanded, DB Patil issued threats to the police day
and night. The political pressure that he exerted on the administration is
among the major factors responsible for the slow movement and inaction of
the police. How great an irony it is that at a time when BJP leaders were
engaged in a ‘Suraksha Yatra’ their own MP came out as the biggest
supporter of bomb manufacturers and exploders.
The role of the Congress has also been dubious. No
minister has visited the place so far. Even the minister from the city,
Ashok Chawan, seems to have forgotten his hometown. Some party corporators
have demanded that action be taken under MCOCA but even they could only
submit their memorandum to the IG-police. The CPM demanded the invoking of
MCOCA, ordering of a CBI enquiry and identifying the all-India network
that supported the bomb-manufacturing centre at Nanded.
Role of the media
The mainstream media indulged in criminal negligence.
People even suspect a nexus here. The media overlooked the existence of a
bomb-manufacturing centre as if it was a purely local incident with no
news value outside Nanded. No leading English newspaper has given the
event any coverage. The same is the case with the electronic media, which
has either totally ignored the story or given it negligible late coverage.
Local residents have even called up several news channels and written
letters to newspapers. But as of now the mainstream media seems determined
to conceal these events from people outside the Marathwada region.
What should be done?
1. Immediate restructuring of the trial by invoking MCOCA
against the accused. Not invoking MCOCA will create serious suspicions
about the intentions of the police. It will strengthen the perception that
MCOCA and other stringent laws are not meant to check terrorism or
organised crimes but exist only to harass the minority community and to
settle scores.
2. Raiding the suspected organisations and arresting their
leaders and finding out the nationwide support base and network of the
Nanded centre. A centre of that magnitude, involving such hi-tech
bomb-making technology, could not function in isolation.
3. Enquiring into the existence of other such centres
throughout the country.
4. Conducting fresh enquiries into other earlier terrorist
acts, especially in Maharashtra, to find out whether they were part of a
communal conspiracy.
5. A CBI enquiry becomes necessary in the backdrop of the
utter failure of the state police and intelligence in locating the bomb
centre before the accidental blast.
6. Pressurising media organisations to print and broadcast
details of the events so as to make the people of India aware of the real
terrorists.
May 3, 2006
(The above is based on the report of a fact-finding team
comprising Dr Suresh Khairnar, Ahmad Kadar and Arvind Ghosh, Secular
Citizen’s Forum & PUCL, Nagpur.)
