After having been kept under the carpet for a long time, Sunil Joshi murder case is now hounding the saffron brigade. Joshi was a Parcharak of RSS and alleged hand of the Sangh, directly involved in terror attacks. They wanted to create hatred in the minds of gullible Hindus against Muslims to fulfil their dream of converting “Secular India” into a “Radical Hindu Rashtra”.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, currently in jail for her alleged active role in Malegaon terror blast 2008, has been formally arrested for her key role in Joshi killing. Senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar is also under the clouds.
Sangh Parcharak Sunil Joshi was killed in the city of Dewas, in Madha Paradesh on December 29, 2007. There were strong indications from the day one that members of radical gang were involved in eliminating Joshi. However the BJP-ruled State Police kept the case under wraps. After CBI and NIA started investigations in terror cases, including Samjhuata Express blast, all leads led to slain Sangh leader Joshi and his murder case suddenly came out of the skeletons. Questions were asked about the integrity of M.P. Police and State BJP Government. At a point of time, it was feared that some police officers might have to face action in this regard. However, after much delay, the police hurriedly completed the formalities of investigations, made some arrests and quickly filed a charge-sheet in the court. Pragya Thakur has been named main accused. She was interrogated in jail and formally arrested. A BJP corporator is also cooling his heels in the jail for his role in the murder.
Now it is being suspected that the ‘progress in the case’ is merely a cover-up action to keep bigger conspiracy under cover and save some big names, like Mr. Kumar. Union Government is planning to hand over all terror related cases, including Paracharak Joshi murder case to NIA but Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s Government of M.P. is scared of the proposal.
Currently different agencies, including CBI, are investigating the case, since revelations by Swami Aseemanand in his confessional statements. This case has become very important to unearth the conspiracy of Saffron Terror. It is learned that Ministry of Home Affairs is ‘cautious’ and thinks that legal opinion is imperative as transfer of the case at this juncture while trials of these cases are in progress may have its bearing. MHA wants to make the transfer of this and other cases a foolproof decision.
Political interests of ruling parties in the State and at the Centre are diametrically opposed, and to the State Government, administration of justice is not important while saving the face of Sangh Parivar is. Although the Centre may direct the NIA to investigate a case without State’s consent, but it is learned that Union Ministry of Home Affairs wants to be on safe side, specifically because, ‘the State Police has already filed the case in the court and taken cognisance of the terror link’. Keeping in view this ‘fact’, MHA is consulting legal experts to ascertain if the murder case of Sunil Joshi, the Sanghi Terrorist, may be handed over to NIA. Anybody can guess if the case were related to someone other than a Sanghi terrorist, there had been no such problem.
According to the charge-sheet filed by the police in the court, Joshi was allegedly shot dead by fellow radicals of Sangh Parivar, who feared that in any case if Joshi was arrested, he would spill the beans about involvement of other radical activists in a number of blasts. It is believed that Joshi had tendency to insult other members of the terror gang and have been threatening them to leak the information to the police.
The NIA is currently probing Modasa blast case of September 2008 and Samjhauta Express blast case of February 2007. Dargah Ajmer Sharif blast case of October 2007 is being probed by Rajasthan Police. Maharashtra Police is investigating Malegaon blast, September 2008. The CBI is probing two cases – Malegaon blast of September 2006 and Makka Masjid blast of May 2007. In all seven cases personalities moulded in RSS mindset are conspirators, planners, financers and executors.
The ministry recently took an “in-principle” decision to hand over all right-wing terror cases to NIA so that one single agency could handle the probe into all such cases which were inter-linked. CBI and State Governments of Rajasthan and Maharashtra have indicated their consent for the transfer. But BJP-ruled MP government is learnt to be reluctant. The State Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta declared: “There is no question of handing over the probe into Joshi’s murder to the NIA.” The BJP Government is shy to explain, “Why, to save whom?”
[SYYED MANSOOR AGHA is a senior journalist and Gen. Sec. Forum for Civil Rights, New Delhi. mail: syyedagha@hotmail.com]