Maharashtra Congress Nominates Candidate With ‘Hindutva Links’, Faces Backlash

While some have alleged Navinchandra Bandivadekar has links to the Sanatan Sanstha, the party has denied this.

Mumbai: Controversy erupted in the Maharashtra state Congress over Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency candidate Navinchandra Bandivadekar, who is allegedly associated with the radical right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha.

Bandivadekar, who has been associated with the Congress since 2005, was seen participating in protest rallies last year opposing the arrest of Vaibhav Raut, a member of the Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti. The state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had arrested Raut and his associates in August last year for allegedly assembling explosives at his residence in Nalasopara, north Mumbai.

Bandivadekar, in September last year, had come out in support of Raut and claimed that he was wrongly implicated in the terror case. He had participated in protest rallies organised in Nalasopara, where over 6,000 people had gathered in support of Raut.

Both Raut and Bandivadekar belong to the OBC Bhandari community. They are active members of the All India Bhandari Samaj Mahasangh, of which Bandivadekar is a president.

Also read | The Congress-NCP Alliance Is Off to a Rocky Start in Maharashtra

Although there is no evidence available to show Bandivadekar is associated with Raut’s ‘cow-protection’ outfit called the Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti, his name has emerged on several occasions on the official web portal of the right-wing organisation Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS).

Diptesh Patil, a close friend of Raut’s who is also associated with the Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti, told The Wire that Bandivadekar knows Raut well and so decided to support him. “Bandivadekar is a well-known leader. He has seen Raut’s work from close quarters and had come for the protest meet to support him. He knows Raut, like other men, has been wrongly implicated by the police,” Patil claimed.

In a statement issued on the HJS website on September 9, 2018, Bandivadekar is quoted as supporting Raut both as someone who belongs to the Bhandari caste and also for the work he has done to “protect cows” in his vicinity.

“We are proud of Vaibhav Raut, not only because he belongs to Bhandari community but also because he works for protection of cows and protection of ‘Hindutva’. He has our full support, stated Shri. Navinchandra Bandiwadekar, the President of ‘Akhil Bharatiya Bhandari Samaj Mahasangh’; while addressing public ‘Janasamvad Sabha’ held at Dhanajay Talkies Hall at Nalasopara on 9th September,” the website states.

(L-R) Shivkumar Pande, Navinchandra Bandiwadekar, Shirish Chavan, Sagar Chopdar, Balraj Kulkarni and Nayana Bhagat at the protest in support of Raut. Credit: HJS website

Bandivadekar’s alleged link with the HJS and its sister organisation, the Sanatan Sanstha, was first pointed out on Twitter, after which the party stepped in to defend him.

Sachin Sawant, the party’s Maharashtra spokesperson, told The Wire that the party has verified the allegations and that they are “unfounded”. “Along with being a Congressman, Bandivadekar is also an active leader of his community. Raut too belongs to the same Bhandari community. Initially it appeared as if Raut was wrongly implicated and as a community leader Bandivadekar had participated in the protest. There is nothing more to this,” Sawant said.

Also read | Does the Release of ‘PM Narendra Modi’ Violate Model Code of Conduct?

Bandivadekar too told The Wire that he was “intentionally attacked” and that this was a “well-crafted conspiracy” against him. “Since there is nothing else to malign my image, the BJP has launched this campaign against me. Yes, I had participated in the protest and I had sought Raut’s release. But that was done in the capacity of a community leader and Raut was a known activist of the Bhandari community. I did not participate in any Sanatan Sanstha event. I am in fact opposed to the organisation’s stand point,” Bandivadekar claimed.

Even as the Congress party issued a press statement in support of Bandivadekar, several senior leaders have approached the party high command seeking a different candidate. In response, Sawant said, “That is their individual standpoint and they have approached the party high command in their individual capacity. The party has made its official stand clear and has decided to go ahead with Bandivadekar’s candidature. He is our winning candidate and has prominence in the Ratnagiri district.”

Hours after a press statement was released in support of Bandivadekar, however, Maharashtra congress president Ashok Chavan issued another statement “clarifying” that the party is still considering his candidature and the decision will be taken only after “proper scrutiny”. “The party is opposed to radical groups like Sanatan Sanstha. Through media, we have been informed about the candidate’s alleged link with Sanatan Sanstha. We will be deciding about his candidature after further inquiry,” Chavan claimed in his tweet.

Bandivadekar joined the Congress in 2005, after spending over a decade in the BJP. In the Congress, he was a close associate of Narayan Rane’s until the latter floated his own party, the Swabhiman Party. Now, Bandivadekar will be contesting against Rane’s son Nilesh Rane from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency in coastal Maharashtra.

Gau Raksha Group in Maharashtra Rallies in Support of Terror Accused

Over six thousand people gathered in support of Vaibhav Raut, one of the three men arrested by Anti Terror Squad for their alleged role in terror activities, in what they said was an ’emotional appeal’ to the state police.

Mumbai: Even as the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is investigating the role of three Hindu hardliners arrested in Maharashtra for their alleged roles in terror activities, over six thousand people gathered at a protest rally organised in Nallasopara, North Mumbai on August 17. The protest rally was an “emotional appeal” to the state police and was organised in the support of the prime accused Vaibhav Raut, said one of the organisers.

Raut, a resident of Nallasopara and who ran a ‘cow-protection outfit’ called the ‘Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti’ in the region since 2014 was arrested on August 10 along with Sharad Kalaskar of Aurangabad and Sudhanva Gondhalekar of Satara. According to the investigating agency, Kalaskar and Gondhalekar were allegedly working with Raut to make homemade bombs and to spread panic at public gatherings. The ATS has claimed that the trio were planning to place one of the bombs a few metres away from one of the upcoming Maratha rallies. This, accordingly to the investigations so far, was to make the state act upon the long pending Maratha community’s demand for reservation. The trio have been sent to ATS’s custody until August 28.

The gathering at Nallasopara on Friday mainly comprised of men and women from different areas like Dahanu, Wada, Thane, Raigad and Mumbai. Most of them belonged to the Bhandari caste, to which Raut belongs to. “Raut has been leading an active public life and his work of saving cows is known across this region. He has in fact influenced several other youths to get involved in the work of Gau Raksha. The Bhandari community came out in support of his work and wrongful criminalisation yesterday in the rally,” said Diptesh Patil, one of Raut’s close friends and also a co-founder of the cow-protection organisation that Raut floated a few years ago.

‘Ill-treatment’ alleged

Patil, further alleged that Raut was wrongly implicated and he and his family was “ill-treated” by the ATS officials a night before his arrest. “The police locked his wife Lakshmi Raut and a toddler in one room and carried out their interrogation in the house. People in the locality witnessed this and it was clear from day one he was the victim of a larger conspiracy,” Patil added. According to the locals, Raut’s house was allegedly searched without a warrant and the police refused to carry out the mandatory Panchnama at the spot.

Dilip Raut, a resident of Nallasopara who had participated in the demonstration, also repeated Patil’s claim. “How can a man who promotes saving life (referring to cow protection), be involved in a violent act. The state has been targeting individuals and organisations that have been actively working for this cause,” Dilip claimed.

Although Raut floated his own organisation towards the end of 2014, he is known to be closely associated with the Hindi Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), one of the sister organisations of Sanathan Sanstha. Sources in the ATS claim that Raut got his initial training from HJS and decided to form his own unit to primarily focus on protecting cows in the state. Sanathan Sanstha has a chequered past with two of it’s karyakartas already convicted for their roles in planting bombs at a theatre in Thane and Panvel near Mumbai. In 2015, another member was arrested for his alleged role on the killing of the rationalist and leader of the Communist Party of India Govind Pansare. The trial in the case is yet to commence.

In 2014, Raut along with other members of his organisation went about registering a series of cases against owners of local slaughter houses for indulging in beef sales. Raut also was involved in a series of “raids” across the city against traders who allegedly we’re involved in transporting cows for slaughter. His organisation also registered cases against these individuals.

Maharashtra Explosives Case: Air Pistols, Pellets Seized From Suspect’s House

Four air pistols and pellets were seized from the house of Vaibhav Raut, arrested on suspicion of a conspiracy to carry out blasts in Maharashtra.

Mumbai: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra police seized four air pistols on Wednesday from the house of Vaibhav Raut, who was arrested with two others last week for an alleged conspiracy to carry out blasts in the state.

A senior ATS official said an Innova car belonging to Raut was also seized from his house in Nallasopara near Mumbai. Besides, the agency seized a laptop, two CPUs, 20 air pistol pellets and some other material, he said.

On August 10, ATS arrested Raut (40), who ran ‘Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti’, a ‘cow protection’ outfit, from Nallasopara. It was followed by arrests of Sharad Kalaskar (25) in Palghar district and Sudhanva Gondhalekar (39) from Pune.

The ATS had then said it seized a huge quantity of explosives and firearms during raids in Nallasopara, Pune and elsewhere in the state.

Alleging that the trio were planning to carry out blasts in the state ahead of Independence Day and Bakri-Eid festival, the ATS had also said it would probe if they had any connection with the killings of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare and journalist Gauri Lankesh.

The trio have been booked under terror-related provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

(PTI)

Maharashtra: ATS Seizes Pistols from Residence of Key Terror Accused

‘The latest seizure was based on the interrogation of the three accused.’

New Delhi: The Maharashta Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) seized close to ten pistols from the residence of Vaibhav Raut, who has been accused of running ‘Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti’, a little-known cow protection outfit, in Nala Sopara, a report in the Indian Express said.

Forty-year-old Raut was arrested on August 11 along with two others, Sharad Kalaskar and Sudhanwa Gondhalekar, following raids that began the night before in the Palghar district and spread to Pune. The ATS, which carried out the arrests on the basis of information, said it was investigating whether those arrested had any connections with the killings of journalist Gauri Lankesh and rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare.

“Around 10 pistols were seized from his residence. The latest seizure was based on the interrogation of the three accused. From their make, it looks like these pistols were procured from Uttar Pradesh. However, we are probing if they were procured or manufactured by the group,” a senior official was quoted as saying in the Indian Express report.

While Raut has been associated with cow vigilantism, the Express report quoted sources saying that ATS recovered a “chit detailing how to assemble a bomb” from Kasalkar. The ATS is also looking to probe a graphics firm run by Gondhalekar, reportedly a member of Shri Shivpratishthan Hindustan, an organisation headed by Sambhaji Bhide, who is said to have instigated the violence against celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battler earlier this year.

“Our probe will focus on finding out if Gondhalekar managed to float an unit or if the arrested accused managed to get in touch with arms suppliers from other states who helped them obtain this cache of weapons and ammunition,” an officer told the Indian Express.

The ATS is now investigating if the three arrested and their aides procured the ammunition from elsewhere (other states) or if they were running a weapons manufacturing unit.

On Saturday, ATS chief Atulchandra Kulkarni had said the accused had stored a huge cache of explosive materials and they would be questioned about all cases where involvement of right-wing extremists is suspected.

According to the ATS, the raids were conducted at Raut’s house in Bhandar Aali in Nala Sopara West and at a nearby shop which he owned and the raid led to the seizure of 20 crude bombs, two gelatin sticks, four electronic and 22 non-electronic detonators, 150 gm explosive powder, two bottles labelled ‘poison’, batteries, soldering equipment, and a bomb circuit drawing.

The trio had been under police surveillance for more than two weeks, another ATS official had said, adding that all three seemed to be “trained for sabotage activities”.

The ATS had booked the three under IPC Section 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), provisions of the Explosives Act as well as under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) Sections 16 (punishment for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy for terrorist act) and 20 (being a member of terrorist gang.)

“We will question them regarding all detected and undetected cases, including Dabholkar, Pansare and Gauri Lankesh (murder) cases,” the ATS official stated.

According to the Indian Express report, ATS sources said that during the initial questioning, all the three accused claimed innocence and blamed each other for the bombs and other ammunition. “Raut claimed that he was not aware that they were bombs and that he had kept the consignment for safe-keeping on the request of the other two accused. The other two have been claiming that the explosives were found at Raut’s residence and they had nothing to do with them,” an official was quoted as saying.

Explosives Seized in Maharashtra, Right-Wing Hindu Outfit Member Held

Vaibhav Raut, a member of ‘Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti’, was apprehended from Bhandar Aali in Nallasopara West late last night, an official said.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a member of a right-wing Hindu outfit and seized huge quantity of explosives from his residence at Nallasopara in Palghar district of the state, police said today.

Vaibhav Raut, a member of ‘Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti’, was apprehended from Bhandar Aali in Nallasopara West late last night, an official said.

“ATS sleuths raided his residence and shop where they found huge quantity of explosives, including crude bombs. Some literature was also seized,” he said.

After taking Raut into custody, the ATS team returned to Mumbai, where he would be interrogated.

He is likely to be produced before a court this afternoon, the official added.

In a statement, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) termed Raut’s arrest “Malegaon part II”.

The Malegaon case centres around the September 29, 2008 bomb explosion near Bhiku Chowk in the Muslim-dominated Malegaon town of Nashik district, which killed six people and injured 101 others.

“Vaibhav Raut is a daring cow protector. He was active through an organisation – Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti – dedicated to the protection of cows,” HJS state organiser Sunil Ghanvat said, adding, “He used to participate in the programmes and agitations organised through uniting Hindu organisations under the aegis of HJS.”

He, however, claimed that Raut had not participated in any of the programmes for the last few months.

“The incidents of needless harassment of activists of Hindu organisations to implicate them in false cases are not new any more. This has been amply proved through Malegaon case and the arrest of many innocent seekers of Sanatan Sanstha,” Ghanvat said.

“Considering the news being disseminated today, it has created doubt whether the arrest of Vaibhav Raut is an instance of Malegaon part II,” he said.

(PTI)