The startling revelation about a senior Indian Army officer’s involvement in September 2008 bomb blasts at a mosque in Malegoan, Maharashtra state has brought to the fore Indian Army’s apolitical role in country’s communal disturbances.
The sensational disclosure came to light after investigations exposed that one Lt Col Purohit had been supplying the deadly RDX explosive material besides imparting training to the Hindu extremists and terrorists. As the story goes Lt Col Purohit used his links established during his tenure in occupied Jammu and Kashmir for procuring explososives and other weapons where he was posted with 41-Rashtriya Rifles. Lt Col Purohit was involved in training the accused in bomb making and it was on his instructions that funds were made available to those involved in the blast.
Investigations by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) also found that he attended secret meetings of the extremist Hindu group ‘Abhinav Bahart’ in different cities. Around 11 people including serving Lt Colonel Purohit have been taken into custody. The ATS has obtained confessional statements of Lt Col Purohit admitting his pivotal role in plotting and executing the act of terrorism on September 29. The ATS further said that it would like to question at least three more men in uniform believed to be one Major General and two colonels. Investigations further revealed that the accused managed to procure weapons and explosives including RDX using fake documents while he was posted in occupied Kashmir in 2004-05. One Sadhvi Pragya Singh has been declared the mastermind behind the attacks in Malegaon and she was arrested with a retired army major Upadhya with another accomplice S Kulkarni. Upadhaya led the investigations to Lt Col Purohit who is believed to have spilled the beans naming three more top army men. This sinister incident established Indian Army officers hobnobbing with Hindu extremist outfits in the country who have been carrying out bombing, arson, torture and other acts of terrorism against hapless minorities particularly the Muslims. After every bombing strike the blame was conveniently placed on some non-existent Muslim organisation in order to whip up anti-Muslim hatred. Armies everywhere in the world are known to have maintained a strictly professional and secular outlook but the role being played by the army in the neighbourhood defies all descriptions. It is enough to expose India’s claims to be the biggest democracy, which is being used to hide the utmost violations of minorities’ rights and targeting of their places of worships.
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