ATS grills another Abhinav Bharat member in Malegaon bomb blast case

Pune, Nov 26 (UNI) The officials of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has grilled another member of Abhinav Bharat, Shyam Apte, in connection with the September 29 Malegaon bomb blast case.

Apte, an engineer, who returned to India after spending 25 years in US and has been staying here since the last one decade after retirement, was grilled for three hours by the ATS officials at his residence in Nav Sahayadri area of the city on Friday last. His name figured during the narco test of Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit.

Family sources told UNI that ATS sleuths had questioned Shyam to know whether he had given any money to self-styled Mahant and key suspect in the Malegaon bomb blast, Dayanand Pandey, alias Swami Amritanand.

ATS officials also questioned him pertaining to his relations with co-accused Lt Col Purohit. They also asked him about his role in the alleged conspiracy to eliminate top Rashtriya Swayam Sangh (RSS) member Indra Kumar, sources said.

The ATS sources said a probe has been initiated afresh as Shyam's name has also appeared in a laptop seized from Pandey. Before Pandey's arrest, he was under the scanner for allegedly funding the Hindu radical outfit, Abhinav Bharat.

According to the ATS, Pandey had visited Pune on several occasions and also met Shyam. He was introduced to Shyam by Lt Col Purohit.

When this reporter went to meet Shyam, he could not talk, owing to his ill health. However, his family members divulged all the details pertaining to questioning by the ATS in connection with the Malegaon blast.

The family members ruled out that Shyam had any active participation in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities in the recent past. However, he used to attend an RSS 'shakha' as an ordinary member, they said.

They added, they have faith and confidence in the judiciary and will get justice. They will give full cooperation to the investigating agency.

UNI SP/ST SSS SKB KN1450