The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday filed fresh charges against alleged RSS activists, Sandeep Dange, Devender Gupta, Ramji Kaslangar and Lokesh Sharma, who have been named as accused in the Mecca Masjid blast of May 18, 2007.
The investigating agency filed a petition in the court adding several provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act including terrorism, conspiracy and harbouring terrorists against the accused who are already facing charges of murder, attempt to murder, and charges under provisions in the Explosives Act.
Interestingly, the main accused in the Mecca Masjid blast are all linked to the RSS and there is no mention of the terror group Abhinav Bharat in the CBI petitions.
A CBI source said that the RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi of Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, who was shot dead in December 29, 2007, had also been included as accused five in the blast case.
Investigation found that it was Kaslangar, Joshi and Dange who actually planted bombs in Mecca Masjid. Lokesh, who is in the city jail, conducted reconnaissance. Other suspects wanted by the CBI in the case are hiding in various states and the newly-added provision of “harbouring terrorists” is meant to flush them out. For instance, Swami Ashamananda, wanted by the CBI, is suspected to be hiding in Gujarat.
A CBI official said the accused had confessed that they resorted to serial blasts in Iconic Muslim religious places to avenge the Sankat Mochan temple attack. “They believed that the police would take no action in the case,” he said.
Apart from Mecca Masjid, Ajmer Dargah and Malegaon, the accused were also planning to target Delhi’s Jama Masjid.
According to the CBI, Dange, Kaslangar and Joshi came to city on train from Indore and stayed in a Secunderabad lodge three days before the blast. They assembled the bombs in the lodge and took an auto to reach Mecca Masjid where they planted the bombs.
Sleuths have also learnt that they used the photograph of a Yoga teacher to buy SIM cards from Jharkhand.
Dange from Indore was a topper in BE engineering. He always had close ties with the RSS and arranged men and money for the blast.