ATS rapped for shoddy probe, manages to get one suspect's custody extended
Jitendra Awhad and Mukta Dabholkar are among the several targets mentioned in the list. File Pics
Activists Shyam Manav and Ritu Raje, Dr Narendra Dabholkar's daughter Mukta and NCP leader Jitendra Awhad among others feature in the list of targets prepared by the five arrested right-wing terror suspects.
As per the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) probe so far, the targets were those who the suspects considered anti-Hindu or opposed to Hindus' traditions in movies and programmes or those who ran campaigns against the community.
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Agency rapped
Additional sessions judge V S Padalkar read the names out loud in open court while going through the case diary submitted by the ATS, whose officers got an earful from the judge on the shoddy manner of investigation — for not submitting a proper case diary. The agency had come to court yesterday seeking extension of police custody of accused Avinash Pawar alias Ajit dada from Ghatkopar; it has been extended till September 4. Officers told the court that Pawar was a Facebook friend of Vaibhav Raut, 40.
While dictating the order of Pawar's custody extension, the court noted there had been negligence on part of the investigating officer by not collecting documents required for obtaining a SIM card.
The court came down on the ATS for also not asking for a production warrant for Amol Kale (arrested in the Gauri Lankesh case) when it had named him in the last remand.
So far...
Officers said they have so far seized two four-wheelers and four motorcycles after questioning the accused. The ATS also found out that the suspects had nine places for bomb-making and target practise-cum-training, of which two are in Maharashtra.
Apart from Pawar and Raut, they have arrested Sharad Kalaskar, 25, from Nalasopara, Sudhanva Gondhalkar, 39, from Pune and former Shiv Sena corporator Shrikant Pangarkar, 40, from Jalna. Officers told the court they were on the lookout for a few more people under their scanner, and that they also wanted to probe certain angles in UP, MP and Karnataka.
Mukta Dabholkar
Coded diary
The ATS had seized a pocket dairy from Avinash Pawar's locker in Mazgaon docks, where he worked as a fitter. Officers said there are coded messages in the diary that need decoding. The agency has claimed that Pawar had received weapons and bomb-making training out of the state, and that he had done a recce of individual targets and their daily routines.
Also Read: Right-Wing Terror Suspects Targeted Padmaavat Shows
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