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AUGUST 28 :The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday claimed in a special court that five recently arrested sympathisers of the Hindu right-wing group Sanatan Sanstha (it has distanced itself from them and said they are not its members) planned to plant explosives at last year’s edition of Sunburn, an annual electronic dance music festival in Pune.

All five were arrested earlier this month from Nalla Sopara, Pune and Jalna in connection with an arms case, and were remanded to ATS custody.

Prosecutors appearing for the ATS made these assertions before a special court constituted to try Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act cases. On Tuesday, four of the five accused – Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar, Sudhanva Gondhalekar and Shrikant Pangarkar – were produced in court, with prosecutors seeking an extension of their custody. Special court judge Sameer Adkar extended their custody by seven days. The fifth accused, Avinash Pawar, will be produced in court on August 31.

ATS officials claimed in court that two of the accused – Gondhalekar and Raut – planned to attack the music festival scheduled in Pune for December 2017 because they felt it was “against Hindu culture”. Sunburn was held in Goa until 2015, and shifted to Pune in 2016.

ATS also claimed that the five accused were involved in throwing petrol bombs outside cinema halls in Kalyan (a city in Thane district, 50 km north-east of Mumbai), and Belagavi (earlier known as Belgaum) in Karnataka for screening the Hindi movie ‘Padmaavat’. ATS further claimed that the accused planned to attack individuals who they thought were propagating or engaging in activity that was “against the Hindu religion”.

Atulchandra Kulkarni, Maharashtra ATS chief, said he could not “confirm the names because it will pose a security threat to the individuals.”

The individuals include an author-historian; a former Marathi newspaper editor and three Marathi authors and playrights, ATS officials said on condition of anonymity. Hindustan Times is not naming them because of the perceived security threat to the individuals.

The ATS officials also said they had recovered three motorcycles, including one from Nalla Sopara and two from Pune, and claimed one of three bikes, allegedly owned by Kalaskar, may have been used in the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru in September 2017.

In their raids, ATS officials claimed to have recovered 10 pistols, one air pistol, one country-made revolver, 10 pistol barrels, six pistol bodies, six magazines, three handmade magazines, one half-prepared country-made revolver, and seven hand-made pistols from Gondhalekar.

Sunil Gonsalves, the public prosecutor appearing for ATS, told the court that the weapons used by the accused had been dismantled and were thrown away at different places to avoid detection, and that they needed to be recovered. He didn’t elaborate.

COURTESY: hindustantimes.com



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Comments

Several users on ‘X’ on Thursday and Friday shared claims that LPG cylinders booked at 11:45 AM were being delivered within just two hours, prompting humorous and curious reactions online. 

Meanwhile netizens quickly responded to the sudden similar bookings by many users.

One ‘X’ user tweeted, “Booked a Bharat Gas LPG cylinder at 11:45 AM today and it was delivered at my doorstep by 1:30 PM. Without any extra cash or charges. I asked the delivery guy if there was any shortage. His reply was negative. This copy is circulating 👇.”

Another user questioned the timing, asking, “How can all book at the same time?” while a separate post wondered, “Why is everyone booking LPG at 11:45 AM?”

Many netizens joked about the posts. One wrote, “Everyone is booking LPG gas cylinders at 11:45 AM, and surprisingly it’s getting delivered in two hours. IT cell has some special gas agency. Is it LPG or Naale ka Gas?” 

One urged, “Please tell these hundreds of people to book at 11:45 AM too,” sharing a photo of people standing in ques.

“Booked an Indane Gas LPG cylinder at 11:46 AM today and it wasnt delivered at my doorstep by 2:30 PM. I asked the delivery guy, why didn't he deliver. He replied cylinders were delivered only to people who booked exactly at 11:45 AM,” wrote another. 

 

One user asked, “What was the auspicious occasion to book at 11:45 AM?” while another tweeted, “I am going to book a gas cylinder at 11:45 AM tomorrow, hope Modi Ji will deliver it by 1:30.”

“I want to ask one thing… If I book an LPG cylinder tomorrow at 11:45 AM and the gas agency is unable to deliver it by 1:30 PM, will it be free like Domino’s pizza, or will I get it at some discounted price? BJP IT Cell experts, please confirm so that I can book my LPG cylinder tomorrow exactly at 11:45 AM,” said another humorously.

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