Second accused in Goa blast dead

Naik, who was injured when the crude bomb on his scooter exploded killing his accomplice Malgonda Patil, had been in a coma from Friday. The police were unable to record his statement and admitted his death was a setback for investigations.

“Considering he was the prime witness, his death is not a good thing. But the probe is moving in the right direction,” SP A V Deshpande said, adding that the police suspected that many others could be involved in the attacks.

The police, meanwhile, launched an intense scrutiny of the Sanatan Sanstha’s finances in Goa to unearth the fringe group’s source of funding. Patil, the main accused in the case, was the administrator of the Sanatan’s Ramnathi centre here which has become the organisation’s India headquarters.

Highly placed government sources told Deccan Herald that one bank account alone at a Talaulim branch revealed funds of over Rs 66 lakh.

The funding for the Margao attacks was being probed, Deshpande said. The Goa police also denied there had been an intelligence lapse on their part, though Patil had been actively involved in the Sangli and Miraj communal riots last month and his links to the Thane blast accused have now been unearthed.