Man held by ATS ‘Mechanic’ in diary of key suspect, finds probe
Gauri Lankesh murder case
Bengaluru : Automobile mechanic Vasudev Suryavanshi, 29, who was arrested on Sunday by Maharashtra ATS for alleged links with a radical Hindutva group involved in the accumulation of illegal arms, has been identified as an individual referred to as “Mechanic’’ in the diary of a key suspect in the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh.
Sources in the Karnataka Police SIT probing the murder case said an automobile mechanic arrested by the ATS has been identified as “Mechanic’’ in the diary of Amol Kale, alleged to be a key leader of a secretive Hindutva group with links to right-wing Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. He has been identified as one of dozens of youths who received training in using guns at camps in Karnataka and Maharashtra and was involved in activities of the group, the sources said.
“Mechanic’’ has been described by other suspects as being adept at stealing motorcycles and authorities are investigating if Suryavanshi was used in any way by the covert group for murders of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, Leftist thinker Govind Pansare, Kannada scholar M M Kalburgi and Lankesh, said sources.
References in the diary of Kale, who was arrested in May, and the investigation of persons allegedly involved in providing arms training for the group suggest that one “Mechanic’’ attended an arms training camp conducted by the group around three years ago. The ATS arrested Suryavanshi from Jalgaon as part of its investigation into an alleged terror plot by right-wing outfits.
A diary maintained by Kale, a former HJS convenor from Pune, has been a key guide for the SIT in unraveling the criminal activities of the covert right-wing group. In the course of its investigation into Lankesh’s murder, the SIT has found that Kale gave members of the group nicknames to protect their real identities, sources said.
“Once we are sure that a youth is suited to be a part of our activities we provide them with a mobile phone to be used for exclusive communication with us and we designate a code name for the youth,’’ Sujeet Kumar, 38, a former HJS activist and a recruiter for the covert group, told the SIT after his arrest in May.
courtesy : indianexpress.com
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BJP has history of ‘contradictory alliances’, says BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”
He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.
Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.
He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.
“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”
Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.
He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.
“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.
