The Genesis of Malegao bomb blasts of 2006

There were numerous bomb blasts in 2006 other than Malegaon such as Sankat Mochan temple blasts of March 7, the local train serial blasts in Mumbai known as 7/11. In the previous year 2005 there was blast on Sharamjeevi Express on July 27. In March 2006 Sunil Joshi, Pragyasingh Thakur and Bhratbhai Riteshwer visited Sabri Dham Ashram in Sabridham, Dangs district, Gujarat. They were agitated over the temple attack earlier that month. They decided to attack Muslim targets in retaliation. For this Asimanand gave 25, 000 rupees to Joshi to buy arms like pistol, sim card and explosives. He instructed Joshi and Hiteshwar to visit Gorakhpur and meet Yogi Adityanath and Rajeshwar Singh in Agra. The two started their mission in April. It was the month of May, 2006 and the place was Sabri Dham Ashram in Sabridham, Dangs district, Gujarat, there was an omnibus meeting of the Hindutva activists. The occasion was the visit of Sunil Joshi. He informed Swami Asimanand(Naba Kumar Sarkar) and Pragyasingh Thakur that three to four more people had also joined them and there should be a meeting. This subsequent meeting would take place in the house of Bharatbhai Riteshwar inValsad. In this Valsad meeting PragyaSingh Thakur, Sunil Joshi, Lokesh Sharma, Ramchandra Kalsangah, Amit (Hakla),Sandeep Dange, Asimanand and Bharat Riteshwar were present. They decided to follow bomb for bomb attack on Muslims. It was the brainchild of Asimanand. After dinner there was an exclusive meeting of Asimanand, Bhrat Riteshwar, Pragya, Joshi. In this cabal meeting Asimanand claims that he suggested the name of Malegaon for bomb blast because of heavy concentration of Muslim population, 80%. “Therefore work should begin from this nearby place and so first bomb blast should take place there”, said Asimannad. 1 Asimanand was a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and enjoyed a special position in it. When he desired to arrange the Shabri Kumb Mela from his office in Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra (an RSS body for the welfare of tribe people) the RSS agreed to sponsor it. In January 2006 the president of Shabri Mata Sewa Samiti Jayanti bhai Kewat informed Asimanand that Pragyasingh Thakur would attend the mela or mammoth congregation known as Shabri Kumbh Mela scheduled for February 11, 12, and 13. On the last day of the mela there was a programme which RSS calls ghar wapsi or reconversion of Muslims to their origin in Hindu religion. The Tadwi Muslims were considered originally to be Hindus and many of them were invited for the reconversion. But before that the Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind of Malegaon and other Muslim bodies including the group of Tadwi Muslims opposed this reconversion ceremony. In a huff Asimanand called off the meeting. The first charge sheet that the National Investigation Agency submitted on June 19, 2013 does not mention either Asimanand or Sadhvi Pryagyasingh or even Riteshwar as accused. This charge sheet according to NIA deals with the operational aspect of the case and does not amount to giving clean chit to the two. The four accused according to them are Lokesh Sharma, Dhan Singh, Rajendra Chaudhary and Manohar Narwaria. The charge sheet says that the four wanted to take revenge of the Varanasi temple attack of March 7, 2006 and the Shramjeev Express attack of July 27. 2 Pragyasingh had started Jai Vande Matrum and had set up a tent in the Ujjain Kumb mela in May 2006 Bharat Riteshwar had stayed in the tent and Asimanand also had visited her. The 100th anniversary of the national song Vande Matrum on September 7, 2006 a day before the blasts and a day after Ganpati festival made Malegaon the epicenter of sensitive spot on the map. There was unease in some quarters because the song views India as a goddess people must worship. That was a violation of their faith believed many Muslims. It was sheer idolatry. Every image made divine In our temple is but thine. Durga, Lakshmi. Bow to thee. In Mosum pul area the Shiv Sena arranged public meeting and prayer where freedom fighter Bhika Anand Pawar said that vande matrum manhoon rashtra la vandan karneyachi garaj aahe. “ It is necessary to worship the nation by singing the song vande matrum.”3 Those who supported Jai Vande Matrum organized a celebration in Sangmeshwar, Malegaon. Posters were pasted around the town where provocative slogans were highlighted like “If you want to live in India you will have to sing vande matrum.” This build up of tension was the tinder box waiting for a burning matchstick. That is what resulted in the bomb blasts at the graveyard mosque and three hundred meters away Mushawarat chowk in which 37 were killed and several hundred injured. The local police under additional superintendant of police Rajwardhan had arrested nine Muslims who were innocent. They were given bail on November 16, 2011. However, the NIA on November 4, 2011 said that one of the nine Muslims arrested had planted bombs for Hindu extremists. 4 ------- 1. Confessional statement of Swami Asimanand. The additional superintendent of police T Raja Balaji was the Investigation Officer of the Hyderabad bomb blast of May 18, 2007 in which connection Asimnand was arrested. Asimanand expressed self desire to confess his crime of terrorism in Malegaon and other places. The IO informed the metropolitan magistrate at the Tis Hazari court in Delhi and got the permission from the jail superintendent of Tihar prison where Asimanand was kept. Doctors at Ram Manohar hospital did a medical checkup of Asimanand on December 16, 20010. The magistrate cautioned Asimanand that the confession would be recorded under Cr P.C. 164 and he cannot deny it later and he could be punished for his crime. Two days later on December 18, Asimanand confessed before the magistrate of his involvement in Malegaon attack of 2006 and other terrorist attacks. 2. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/no-clean-chit-yet-for-aseemanand-and-sadhvi-pragya-singh-thakur-in-2006-malegaon-blasts-case-370564 3. Lokmat, (Nasik, edition) September 8, 2006. 4. http://indianexpress.com/news/one-of-nine-muslims-arrested-for-malegaon-had-planted-bombs-forhindu-extremists-says-nia/870531/0