Hindu radical groups involved:vikhe-patil

Mumbai:following a meeting with Karnataka deputy chief minister and home minister G Parameshwara, leader of Opposition in the legislative Assembly and Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-patil said the police have strong evidence against active radical Hindu organisations, including ones in Maharashtra.

Last week, Vikhe-patil had demanded the arrest of Sanatan Sanstha chief Jayant Athawale.

Vikhe-patil said Karnataka’s special investigation team (SIT), probing the killing of MM Kalburgi, has proof against such groups operating in both states. “The action by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad against Vaibhav Raut and others was result of the specific leads by the Karnataka SIT. The BJP-SENA government had opted to turn a blind eye to this,” he said after the meeting.

According to a state Congress functionary, Parameshwara told Vikhe-patil that the state was preparing to ban some of these groups and will also push for the ban by the Centre.

Chetan Rajhans, spokesperson of the Sanstha, said the allegations by Vikhe-patil was a move to settle scores, as the Sanstha had previously levelled corruption charges against him.

Responding to this, Vikhepatil said “I have been demanding the ban for two years, while corruption charges were levelled five months ago. Sanathan has sued me with a ₹10-crore defamation case and I am ready to ace action.”

None of the investigation agencies could prove the Sanstha’s involvement in terror activities, said Rajhans.