Jaipur:
The Rajasthan ATS on Friday filed a charge sheet against five 2007 Ajmer blast accused, accusing them of murder and defiling a place of worship.
A senior RSS leader, Indresh Kumar, is among those named in the charge sheet, which says the blast at the Ajmer Dargah three years ago was the result of an elaborate conspiracy hatched by a group of Hindu radicals.
The chargesheet says:
- Indresh took part in a meeting in Jaipur on October 31, 2005 with seven others
- In the meeting he exhorted members to do radical acts
- Indresh said being part of religious organisations will help them avoid suspicion and accomplish their mission
- Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, was also present in that meeting.
Police say there is not enough evidence to frame charges against Indresh yet, but there's every possibility he will be questioned.
The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, says the RSS must accept the truth.
"The RSS should accept the truth which has come out," said Gehlot.
"The ATS has done a very good job as it was very important for the truth to come out and it is now in the open. A link was found between Ajmer Sharif blast, Jaipur and Malegaon blasts and the wrongdoers were caught. I think the ATS has done a good job for which even the central Government had thanked them," Gehlot added.
But the man in the eye of the storm, Indresh Kumar, claims he's being framed. "It is a political conspiracy," he told NDTV.
The RSS has backed Indresh, but it's turning out to be a blame game between the Congress and the BJP. (
Read: RSS rejects reports of functionary named in Ajmer chargesheet)
"The RSS has been consistently working to undermine and upset the pluralistic ethos of India," said Manish Tewari, Congress Spokesperson. (
Read: Congress accuses RSS of 'disturbing' communal amity)
"This is a political conspiracy to tarnish the image of organisations like RSS which is involved in nation building," said Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP Spokesperson. (
Read: BJP defends RSS leader Indresh Kumar)
The 806-page charge sheet was filed by the Anti-Terrorist Squad in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jagendra Kumar Jain in connection with the blast on the premises of the Dargah of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti that left three persons dead and 15 others injured.
The accused have been charged with sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 120B (conspiracy) and 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship) of IPC among others.
The prosecution has cited 133 witnesses.
The court fixed October 26 for arguments on the charge sheet.