Sanatan activists planned 4 blasts in Goa, say cops

“Their plan was to trigger off blasts in quick succession in Margao, Vasco, Sancoale and Curchorem in crowded areas to create panic in Goa,” a senior police official said.

Near a temple

The IED defused at Sancoale, had been planted in a van parked 100 metres from the Shantadurga temple.

Vinay Talekar, 27, an MBA from Karwar, and Vinayak Patil, 30, a driver, were arrested on Saturday for allegedly planting the explosive at Sancoale.

They told the special investigation team (SIT) they were instructed to head directly to Vasco on their scooter, where they were to meet up with the other two men who died in the blast.

Talekar’s and Patil’s arrests have given the Special Investigation Team an insight into the working of a subversive cell within the Sanatan.

The SIT also recovered some incriminating evidence connected to the IEDs from a field in South Goa on Monday after their interrogation.

“We have so far been able to establish that they operated as a tight-knit cell within the organisation,” police sources said. Talekar from Karwar, and Patil from Belgaum, were close to Malgonda Patil, the administrator of the Sanatan ashram in Goa who died in the Margao blast.

Police say the three men had connections that date back some years. “Malgonda came from the Jat taluka in Sangli which is close to Belgaum. Both these men were close friends of his and stayed with him in the ashram frequently,” Superintendent of Police A V Deshpande said.