Maha ATS names MD Murali as 1 of 4 wanted accused

MUMBAI: MD Murali, the mastermind of all terror plots involving Sanatan Sanstha members, including the Nalasopara arms haul and killings of Dr Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, MM Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh, has been named as one of the four wanted accused in the 6,800-page charge sheet filed by the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS).

The charge sheet mentions the 12 arrested accused. “MD Murali is the alias used by a person, who has been identified. Murali was the head of all operations, while Amol Kale, arrested in Lankesh murder case, was his second-in-command. Dr Virendrasinh Tawde, accused in the Dabholkar killing, reported to Kale. Kale directed the group in the absence of Murali,” said a senior ATS officer.

The agency has claimed all accused were members of Hindutva organisations, namely Sanathan Sanstha, Hindu Janjagruti, and others. “They were making efforts towards the establishment of Hindu Rashtra, as explained in the book, Kshatra Dharma Sadhana, published by Sanatan Sanstha. They had conspired to form a terrorist gang of youths with a similar mindset, which could work towards undermining unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of the country,” read the charge sheet.

The agency claimed the group wanted to target individuals “who spoke, wrote or acted against the Hindu dharma, its traditions and customs”, besides targeting events that propagated such values.

According to ATS, the attack on a western musical event, Sunburn, held in Pune in December 2017, was planned by the group. “They used countrymade bombs, petrol bombs, firearms and threw stones to send a strong message to the followers

of western music and western culture, and terrorise the minds of all those who would attend the said programme,” ATS claimed in the charge sheet. The state agency has recorded the statements of 186 witnesses and gathered documents, including diaries maintained by the accused as evidence against these accused. Call data records, screen grabs of conversation between the accused on various social media sites have also been added to the charge sheet.