Hyd blast suspects wanted in Malegaon case, says CBI

STRONG LINKS

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: A clear link has emerged between the suspects of the Hyderabad Mecca Masjid bomb blast and those involved in the 2008 Malegaon blast. The CBI has arrested two persons for the Mecca mosque blast and says two more, Sandeep Dange and Ramji Kalangsara, are absconding. They are also wanted in the Malegaon blast, which killed six in September 2008.

TOI had earlier written about a link between the 2008 Malegaon blast, the Ajmer shrine blast and the Mecca Masjid blast case. Members of some saffron hardline outfits have been arrested in these cases. The CBI has announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh each for giving information about the whereabouts of Dange and Kalangsara.

In the Malegaon blast case, Kalangsara has been mentioned as the bomb planter by the police. Lieutenant colonel Prasad Purohit was arrested in this case. Dange is said to have helped in assembling the bomb and also attended several conspiracy meetings.

The CBI on June 18, three years after a bomb rocked the 300-year-old Mecca Masjid killing nine, arrested RSS member Devendra Gupta and his associate, Lokesh Sharma. The CBI mentioned that Dange and Kalangsara were bomb manufacturers and had stayed in Hyderabad before the blast. Gupta has been remanded in police custody for 10 days.

When asked about the CBI’s statement on Dange and Kalangasara’s role in the mosque blast case and whether the accused will be brought to Mumbai, ATS chief Rakesh Maria said, “We don’t know what the CBI has said in its remand paper. We are probing the case.’’

The Times of India, June 23, 2010