RSS leader accused of plotting Ajmer blast

Indresh Kumar, the RSS leader, was present at a secret meeting held in a Gujarat guest house in Jaipur on October 31, 2005, in which six other functionaries of the organisation were also present, the chargesheet said.

The 806-page chargesheet was filed by the Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jagendra Kumar Jain in connection with the blast on the premises of the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, that left three people dead and 15 injured. The court fixed October 26 as the date for arguments on the charge sheet.

ATS sources said Indresh has not been made an accused in the case as further investigation is under way to ascertain whether he had any links with the blast. The RSS was quick to dismiss the charge as “far from truth”.

“We reject media reports that claim that the name of Indresh Kumar, a senior functionary from New Delhi, features in the Ajmer dargah blast chargesheet. His name has only been mentioned in the document in connection with holding a meeting,” RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav said.

“It is far from the truth. It will be challenged in the court,” he added.
The BJP too defended Kumar, saying  nothing “substantial or credible” was found against him.

The party accused the government of targeting nationalist organisations while not acting against Kashmiri separatists.

“According to our information Indresh Kumar has not been named as an accused in the chargesheet. There is nothing substantial or credible against him. No organisation has been named. How can anyone say that the BJP or RSS is involved or that this is saffron terror,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman questioned.

Reacting to the Congress allegations of RSS involvement in Ajmer blast conspiracy, the BJP spokesperson said: “Whoever has made these comments has not read the chargesheet. The RSS has not been named in the chargesheet. Every time there is a disaster anywhere in the country, Sangh people go there immediately.” 

Cong slams RSS

However, the Congress utilised the issue to paint the RSS in communal colours.
“The RSS has been consistently working to undermine and upset the pluralistic ethos of India and disturb communal amity. The latest chargesheet is just a manifestation of its direction right from the beginning,” party spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters in the national capital.

On his part, Kumar refuted any involvement in the blast. “It is a political conspiracy hatched against me. Investigating agencies have been misused. The present government protects traitors and wages a war against patriots. I will fight this injustice in court,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said: “The truth has come out and the RSS should accept it. Later, the background of its leaders whose names have appeared and their links will come out.”

The five accused in the chargesheet include Devendra Gupta, allegedly linked to the radical Hindu group Abhinav Bharat.

Officials had been probing Gupta’s alleged links with Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in the Malegaon blast case.