After the Malegon blasts, the role of the radical Hindu outfit, Abhinav Bharat, resurfaced with the Rajasthan Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Friday arresting Devendra Gupta for his involvement in the Ajmer dargah sharif blasts in 2007.
Three people were killed and 30 others injured when explosives kept in a tiffin box went off at the famous sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti on October 11, 2007.
‘‘Investigating agencies have gathered enough evidence to prove that the arrested person also had links with the RSS,'' said Rajasthan home minister Shanti Dhariwal. Gupta (36), a resident of Bihariganj in Ajmer, was produced in the CJM court in Ajmer on Friday and was remanded in 12-day police custody. ATS sources said Gupta had confessed to his involvement in the Ajmer blasts. Investigations also show that Gupta was in constant touch with Sadhvi Pragya Singh, the alleged mastermind of the Malegaon blasts.
‘‘He has given vital information and will be taken to dargah sharif for spot verifications soon,'' said an ATS officer. ADG (ATS) Kapil Garg said ATS teams were being rushed to other states and investigations were heading in the right direction.
ATS sources claimed they had evidence that the accused was an active member of RSS and had strong links with the alleged rightwing extremist organization, Abhinav Bharat. Sources said after Sadhvi Pragya was arrested following Malegaon blasts, police scanned all the phone numbers saved on her cellphone. Gupta's arrest was the result of this lead, sources said.
Meanwhile, a second suspect in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast case, allegedly linked with some Hindu outfits, has been arrested by Rajasthan ATS from Madhya Pradesh.
"Chandrashekhar, who is suspected to be a key member of the terror module involved in the blast in which three persons were killed, was arrested yesterday from Shajapur," ATS sources said in Jaipur on Saturday.
He is believed to have links with Hindu outfits, the sources said, adding he will be produced before a local court in Ajmer.
Chandrashekhar is the second person to be arrested in connection with the case this week. On Wednesday, Devendra Gupta was arrested by Rajasthan Police in connection with the blast.
Gupta is allegedly linked with Hindu outfit Abhinav Bharat Sangathan and suspected to be involved in the blast inside the Dargah of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti, they said.
Officials are also probing Gupta's alleged links with Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in the Malegaon blast case.
Sadhvi and ten others are accused of masterminding and carrying out blasts in Malegaon in Maharashtra on September 29, 2008, in which six persons were killed. PTI
