SP, Congress reiterate demand to ban Sanatan Sanstha
Mumbai, Aug 21 : Amidst the ongoing crackdown on right-wing activists by the CBI and ATS, the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday demanded a ban on the Sanatan Sanstha and its leaders.
Maharashtra SP President Abu Asim Azmi also asked the Centre and the state government to ensure adequate security at various mosques ahead of the Eid Al Adha festival.
"The ATS has said there was a major plan to foment communal disturbances and made terror strikes in different cities of Maharashtra. It has also seized large quantities of arms and explosives from Palghar," Azmi pointed out.
In the wake of these seizures, Maharashtra ATS chief Atulchandra Kulkarni should also be provided strong security, he said.
Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil asked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to immediately arrest the Sanatan Sanstha founder-chief Jayant B. Athavale.
He alleged that the activities of the organisation were nothing short of ‘terror' and sought a ban on the outfit.
Referring to the recent police actions, Vikhe-Patil said he had specific information that nearly 500 youths have been trained to use firearms and they must be tracked.
For this, it was imperative to arrest Athavale, which would help unravel Sanatan Sansthan's modus operandi and plans, he said.
A Sanatan Sanstha spokesperson has dismissed all charges against it and said no such training was imparted to any youth and that it was a spiritual organization.
On Tuesday, a large of Sanstha and Hindu Janjagran Samiti activists took out a procession in Pune protesting what they termed attempts by various organisations and political leaders to defame them.
They carried banners, posters and placards with slogans of Hindu unity and flaying organisations like the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), headed by the slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
HJS convenor Parag Gokhale said neither his organization nor the Sanstha were in any manner involved in the killing of rationalists like Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M.M. Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh.
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Fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi, nine killed
New Delhi (PTI): At least nine people were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, officials said.
The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
"Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital," a senior police officer said.
A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.
Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours.
The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained, and efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.
Further investigation and proceedings are underway.
