Tag: Madhya Pradesh election

My Curse Killed Hemant Karkare, Says BJP’s ‘Sadhvi’ Pragya Thakur

The Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad chief had died fighting terrorists during 26/11 Mumbai attack.

New Delhi: Malegaon bomb blast accused Pragya Thakur – the latest to join the ranks of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) – said on Friday that it was her curse that took the life of Hemant Karkare, the Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) chief who died fighting terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai attack.

“I told him ‘You will be destroyed,’ and just over a month later, terrorists killed him,” Thakur, a self-proclaimed ‘sadhvi’, can be heard saying to a crowd in a video released by news agency ANI, which also shows BJP leaders applauding her statement.

Thakur is the BJP’s candidate for the Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency. She is expected to file her nomination from there on April 23.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal hit out at the BJP leader for her comment, saying that it showed the party’s “true colours” and that it “must be shown its place now.”

Not just the opposition, BJP’s national spokesperson, Shahnawaz Hussain criticised the statement, saying: “Those who died for the country, we consider them martyrs. We don’t raise questions on their martyrdom.”

Karkare, as chief of the Mumbai ATS, had investigated charges levied against Thakur in the 2008 blasts in Malegaon. According to Thakur, the investigation team called on Karkare and told that if he didn’t have evidence against her, she should be let go. But, she says, the ATS chief responded: ‘I’ll do anything. I will bring proof, from here or there, but I won’t let Sadhvi go.’”

“You won’t believe it,” she then goes on to boast, “but I told him ‘tera sarvanaash hoga (you will be destroyed).’ And just over a month later, terrorists killed him.”

Also read: Sadhvi Pragya Was First Arrested in Terror Case by BJP Government, Not Congress

Karkare, along with senior police officials Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar, was killed after Ajmal Kasab and his partner Abu Ismail opened fire at their police van during the terror attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008.

Karkare was the first officer to investigate the Malegaon blasts on September 29, 2008, in which six people were killed and over 100 injured. While Thakur was taken into custody the same year, she was let off by the National Investigation Agency in 2015 for lack of evidence. The trial court, however, refused to let her off.

The court dropped charges against her under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act but is trying her under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. She is currently out on bail.

The IPS Association released a statement, saying Karkare made the “supreme sacrifice fighting terrotists”. It condemned the “insulting statement” made by Thakur and demanded that the sacrifices of all martyrs be respected.

According to the news agency ANI, the Madhya Pradesh chief electoral officer has received a complaint against Thakur for her comments. The CEO said the commission has taken cognizance of the issue and an enquiry is underway.

The BJP also released a statement, saying it considers Karkare a martyr. The comments made by Thakur was a “personal statement”, the party said, adding that she may have made them because of the “mental and physical torture” she faced.

Sadhvi Pragya Was First Arrested in Terror Case by BJP Government, Not Congress  

The BJP candidate for Bhopal was charged in 2008 by the Madhya Pradesh police with the murder of RSS activist Sunil Joshi, whose name figured in a number of terrorist acts against Muslims.

Bhopal: While announcing Malegaon bomb blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur as the BJP’s candidate for the Bhopal parliamentary constituency on Wednesday, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan described her as someone who was born to keep the nation secure.

Other BJP leaders have described Thakur as a victim of a Congress conspiracy to “defame Hindus”. In a campaign speech in Wardha, Maharashtra earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Hindus would never forgive the Congress for this and would punish the party for the ‘Hindu terror’ slur.

The irony is that the Sadhvi – seen by her critics as an exemplar of Hindutva extremism and by the BJP as the poster child of the defamed Hindu – was first accused of a terrorism-related crime by the BJP state government in Madhya Pradesh when Chouhan was chief minister.

In September 23, 2008, Chouhan’s own police arrested Sadhvi Thakur and eight others for their alleged involvement in the murder of RSS man Sunil Joshi in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh.

“While announcing her candidature, former CM Chouhan forgot that the person is accused of the 2008 Malegaon blast and is out on bail, so how could she be the protector of the nation?” asked Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi.

He further said, “Shivraj should not forget that his own police had arrested her twice for her alleged involvement in Sunil Joshi’s murder in 2008 and 2011, respectively. Shivraj should explain how a terrorist and murder accused can protect and strengthen the nation?”

Sadhvi Thakur has been pitted against Congress heavyweight Digvijay Singh from the Bhopal constituency.

Since 1989, BJP has never lost Bhopal – which has a sizeable Muslim population. Digvijaya Singh was asked by his party colleague, chief minister Kamal Nath, to contest from tough seats like Bhopal or Indore, where the Congress hasn’t won in years. Digvijaya Singh accepted the challenge.

Sunil Joshi murder case

Sunil Joshi, whose name figured in the Mecca Masjid, Samjhauta and Malegaon blast cases was killed on December 29, 2007 in Dewas. On October 23, 2008, Dewas police arrested Thakur and others in connection with the murder case. However, on March 25, 2009, the police closed the case on the order of Dewas SP and Thakur, along with all other accused, was released.

Also read: Sadhvi Pragya as BJP Candidate: How the SC Missed an Opportunity to Cleanse Politics

Joshi had been chargesheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the 2007 Samjhauta Express train blast case. He was shot dead on December 29, 2007 when he was walking back to his hideout at Chuna Khadan locality in Dewas town of Madhya Pradesh.

A year later, on July 9, 2010, the Madhya Pradesh police reopened the murder case and filed a chargesheet alleging that Sadhvi Thakur – arrested in the Malegaon blasts case – and four others had killed Joshi fearing he might expose the entire conspiracy from Samjhauta to Ajmer blasts.

On the basis of the chargesheet, police issued an arrest warrant against Thakur on February 26, 2011, however, she was already in jail due to her alleged involvement in the Malegaon bomb blast which claimed six lives and left 100 people injured.

During this time, the MP police arrested the other accused in connection with the case from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. In 2011, the Indore high court transferred the case to the NIA.

MP police chargesheet in Joshi murder case

In the 432-page chargesheet filed before judicial magistrate Padmesh Shah, the police said that RSS activist Sunil Joshi was eliminated by fellow Hindu hardliners, including Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Thakur for his “high-handedness and the fear” that his arrest would unmask those involved in explosions in several parts of the country.

The chargesheet further state: “Sadhvi was peeved with Joshi as he had personally misbehaved with her and ‘his overall behaviour was something not expected by a woman'”.  The chargesheet also contains statements from 124 witnesses, according to a March 2011 News18 report.

The chargesheet against Thakur, Anand Raj Kataria, Harshad Solanki, Vasudev Parmar and Ramchandra Patel, Mehul and Rakesh was filed under various sections of the IPC including 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) besides the Arms Act.

According to the document, another reason that provoked the accused to kill Joshi was the “ill-treatment” he meted out to Harshad, Mehul, Rakesh and Ustad – involved in the Best Bakery case in which 14 were burnt alive in Vadodara on March 1, 2002, at the height of post-Godhra communal frenzy in Gujarat. The four, who were hiding with Joshi in Dewas, were often abused by him, it said.

Also read: Malegaon Blast Victim’s Father Asks Court to Bar Pragya Singh Thakur From Contesting

The chargesheet also claims that on the day of Joshi’s murder, Thakur was in Indore and her mobile call records show that she was in constant touch with the accused.

After Joshi’s death, Thakur emerged as a major suspect after his relatives claimed she had come to their house on the day of the murder and had taken away his suitcase. She was also seen in the hospital where Joshi’s body was brought.

Three years later, on August 19, 2014 – just months after Narendra Modi become the prime minister – the case was again transferred to the Dewas district court. In September 2015, the Dewas court framed charges against eight people, including Thakur – who was charged under section 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant sections of the IPC.

However, on February 1, 2017, Dewas additional district Judge Rajeev Kumar Aaptee acquitted all accused in the Joshi murder case.

Kashif Kakvi is a Delhi-based journalist who reports on Madhya Pradesh. He tweets @KashifKakvi.

Malegaon Blast Accused Sadhvi Pragya Joins BJP, to Contest From Bhopal

She will be pitted against the Congress’s Digvijay Singh and was confident of emerging victorious.

New Delhi: Sadhvi Pragya Singh, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, will contest this Lok Sabha election as the BJP candidate from Bhopal. She has also formally been announced as a member of the BJP.

The Congress has already fielded former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh from the same seat.

On her hopes for this election, she reportedly said, “It wont be difficult for me.”


Singh is out on bail in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, in which six people were killed and about 80 were injured. Bombs were fitted on a motorcycle and detonated in Malegaon, Maharashtra. There was also a simultaneous blast in Modasa, Gujarat.

Singh has spent nine years in jail. In 2015, the NIA gave her a “clean chit”. A few months earlier, a senior law officer, Rohini Salian, who was the special public prosecutor in the case, issued a public statement that since the BJP government took over in 2014, she was under pressure to “go soft” on the case.

Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit was also arrested in the case. He was a serving army officer at the time, but Singh and he were both apparently part of an extremist Hindu outfit, Abhinav Bharat, that was linked to the Malegaon blast. He has been reinstated to the army after also spending nine years in jail.

As of October 2018, a special NIA court said that Pragya Singh, Lt Col Purohit and four others would still face trial for terror activities, criminal conspiracy, murder and other charges. They have all pleaded not guilty.

Also Read: NIA’s U-turn on Malegaon Hindutva Suspects Came With Plenty of Advance Warning

She is also an accused in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah case. But in 2017, the NIA cleared Singh as well as RSS leader Indresh Kumar of their involvement in the case. RSS member Swami Aseemanand confessed that Hindu extremists were involved in the case.

Another accused in the case, Rajendra alias Samandar, is also an accused in the Samjhauta Express train blast case (2007). Others accused and arrested are also linked to terror acts such as the Modasa blast and the Mecca Masjid blast (2007).

Also Read: With Organised Crime Charges Dropped, What Remains of the Malegaon Blast Case Trial?

BJP has won the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat since 1989.

Commenting on the development, former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, “Imagine the anger if I’d field a terror accused. Channels would’ve gone berserk by now trending a mehboobaterrorist hashtag!”

EC Seeks FIR Against ‘Cyber Expert’ Who Claimed BJP Rigged 2014 Polls

The EC said Syed Shuja allegedly violated section 505 (1) of the IPC and has asked the police to investigate the matter “promptly”.

New Delhi: After rejecting any claims of EVM tampering and asserting that EVMs are manufactured under “very strict supervisory and security conditions,” the Election Commission of India has asked the Delhi police to file an FIR against a self-proclaimed cyber expert.

At an event in London, a man who identified himself as Syed Shuja, a US-based cyber expert, alleged that EVMs in India are easily hackable and had been tampered with in the 2014 general elections.

“Through media reports, it has come to the notice of the commission that allegedly one Mr Syed Shuja claimed (at the event in London) that he was part of the EVM design team and he can hack the EVMs used in elections in India,” the EC said in its letter.

The EC said Shuja has allegedly violated section 505 (1) of the IPC pertaining to spreading rumours which creates panic.

The ECI stressed it ensures that “all stakeholders participate in the process without any intimidation and influences” and that the elections are conducted in a “free, fair, transparent, ethical and credible manner.”

The Election Commission also asserted that when certain concerns were raised regarding the use of EVMs in June 2017, the ECI issued an open challenge for anyone to come forward and demonstrate any vulnerabilities in the EVMs.

Also read: Election Commission Rubbishes New Allegations that EVM Hacking Aided Modi Govt Win in 2014

Addressing the event in London organised by the Indian Journalist’s Association through a Skype call, Shuja had also claimed to have worked with the government and alleged that several of his teammates were “murdered” after they discovered that the Narendra Modi government came to power by hacking EVMs using technology available to Reliance Jio.

Whilst making several allegations, Shuja also alleged that BJP minister Gopinath Munde and veteran journalist Gauri Lankesh had threatened to expose the EVM hacking racket and were, as a consequence, silenced.

Election Commission Rubbishes New Allegations that EVM Hacking Aided Modi Govt Win in 2014

Syed Shuja, who didn’t provide any evidence to back his claims, also alleged that BJP Union minister Gopinath Munde and journalist Gauri Lankesh were killed for threatening to expose the government.

London: A press conference organised in London alleging EVMs in India are easily hackable and had been tampered with in the 2014 general elections has been called a “motivated slugfest” by the Election Commission of India.

The ECI said it “stands by the empirical facts about the foolproof nature of EVMs” and claims that EVMs are manufactured under “very strict supervisory and security conditions”.

The EVM event in London was organised by the Indian Journalist’s Association (Europe) whose president Ashis Ray stated in the beginning that the organisation neither endorsed nor had verified the claims that were made. Congress leader Kapil Sibal also attended the event but did not participate or speak during the proceedings.

The wild allegations raised at the press conference were made by a masked man who identified himself as ‘Syed Shuja’, a US-based cyber expert.

Shuja, who addressed the audience through a Skype call, claimed to have worked with the Electronics Corporation of India from 2009 to 2014.He alleged that when his team discovered that the Narendra Modi government came to power by hacking EVMs using technology available to Reliance Jio, many of his team mates were “murdered” while he escaped to the US and claimed political asylum there.

According to him, his team was targeted as they had become a threat to the government and were then fired upon point blank.

Also read: The Election Commission Must Do Much More to Live up to Its Mandate

Shuja confessed that political parties of every hue have tried to contact them to rig elections, but according to him, there is a team of cyber experts in India that is working tirelessly to block any hacking efforts. Shuja claimed to be in touch with the team and said that it found success in the recent elections in Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where the BJP suffered.

Shuja said that he conducted this press conference to create awareness on how easy it is to manipulate elections in India.

Representative image. Credit: PTI

Speaking to journalists in London through Skype from the US, Shuja made several allegations but failed to provide any evidence to back them.

He alleged that Gopinath Munde who served in Modi government as a minister was a party to the EVM hacking in 2014 elections and then threatened to expose the government but was killed as a result. Munde lost his life in a road accident in June 2014.

Also read: SC Notifies EC on Plea Seeking Cross-Verification of Votes in 30% of All Polling Booths

Shuja also alleged that the reason for the murder of Gauri Lankesh, a veteran journalist who was brutally shot outside her home in September 2017, was a result of her investigations into EVM hacking (he says she told him she was close to publishing that story) and had made some RTI requests in that regard that alerted the government.

EC Orders Probe Into ‘Anomalies’ in Madhya Pradesh Voters’ List

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Sunday ordered a probe into allegations of large-scale discrepancies in the voters’ list of Madhya Pradesh.

Soon after a Congress delegation approached it on the issue, the poll panel formed two teams to probe the allegations.

The teams have to submit a report by June 7.

The Congress claimed there are at least 60 lakh bogus voters in the state, which will go to polls in November.

The party also submitted evidence to the EC to buttress its allegation.

“We have provided evidence to the Election Commission. There are approximately 60 lakh fake voters registered in the state. These are not merely mistakes. The lists have been deliberately altered at the behest of BJP government in the state,” Congress leader Kamal Nath said.

The EC teams will visit the Narela, Bhojpur, Seoni-Malwa and Hoshangabad assembly seats to ascertain how the discrepancies occurred.

After reaching the state on Monday, the teams would also fix responsibility for multiple and fake entries, EC said.