Ramdev's co-passenger was his 'bhakt' not terrorist:family

Jalandhar, May 28 (UNI) Family members of Gaurav, the youth who reportedly confessed to being engaged by a terrorist group to assassinate yoga guru Swami Ramdev, today termed his arrest as''politically motivated'' and demanded an inquiry to uncover the truth.

''Gaurav's arrest is politically motivated... he is no terrorist'', his maternal uncle Ajay Kapur said, while talking to reporters at the Shiv Nagar residence of Gaurav's mother here.

Saying that Gaurav stayed in the company of Ramdev during his four-day stay here earliery this week, he said his nephew had attended all the programmes of the Baba. ''I think Ramdevji knew him well,''he added.

''What needs to be looked into is how can a ordinary youth board a VVIP helicopter,'' Mr Kapur said.

Gaurav's mother said that her son's arrest was motivated by ''certain quarters' and has demanded a detailed inquiry into the entire episode to get to the truth.

The mother, who is a divorcee and stays with her 21-year old son and college-going daughter, said that her son had no criminal background and was a peace-loving youth.

''My son never even indulged in fights in the mohalla , so how can he be a terrorist,'' she maintained.

Dismissing the charge of Gaurav having any links with terrorists, the residents of the locality told reporters that the youth was friendly with all and never got into any trouble.

According to his family, Gaurav worked as a reporter for a local weekly newspaper 'Divya Times'. They claimed that he had also worked for a English daily for a few months before switching over to the weekly.

However, Mr Sheetal Vij, the proprietor of 'Divya Times,' when contacted, claimed that Gaurav had never worked for his paper. He claimed that the youth used to drop into his weekly office to distribute press releases related to religious functions.

Meanwhile, a team of police officals visited the Shiv Nagar residence of Gaurav to inquire about his ancedecents after learning about his arrest in Hamirpur by the Himachal Pradesh police. SSP Ishwar Singh, said that Gaurav had no criminal background.

UNI HS VD PC1707