Shiv Sena man arrested on terror charges, party maintains silence

In a major embarrassment to Shiv Sena Maharashtras AntiTerrorism Squad ATS is investigating an alleged involvement of its party member Shrikant Pangarkar in harbouring and funding men accused of conspiring terror attacks in MaharashtraA press release issued by ATS confirmed terror charges being pressed against Pangarkar under Sections 16 18 20 of Unlawful Activities Prevention UAPA Act During further investigation of ATS police station CR No 112018 us 45 Explosive Substances Act rw 9B Explosives Act rw 120 B IPC rw 161820 Unlawful Activities Prevention Act etc a male accused person aged about 40 yrs ro Jalna is arrested today evening a release from ATS DCP saidBesides the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI may also seek 40yearold Pangarkars custody to investigate his alleged role in the murder of Rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in August 2013Pangarkar is an excorporator from Jalna district of Maharashtra He was arrested by Maharashtra ATS on Sunday after interrogation of three persons Sharad Kalaskar Vaibhav Raut and Sudhanwa Gondhalekar revealed his alleged involvement Pangarkar was produced in court on Monday and has been sent to police custody till August 28According to ATS the questioning of Kalaskar Raut and Gondhalekar revealed a larger conspiracy and it was found that they along with Pangarkar were planning terror activities in Mumbai Nala Sopara Thane Pune Satara and Solapur districts of Maharashtra Sources said detailed maps of these areas communication devices explosives and weapons such as two gelatine sticks 22 crude bombs 15 country made pistols and some partially assembled pistols were recovered from Kalaskar Raut and Gondhalekar These three persons were arrested on August 10In addition the CBI during the interrogation of one Sachin Andure arrested in the Dabholkar murder case got hints of Pangarkariquests alleged role in the killing of the rationalist CBI sources have confirmed that Pangarkariquests role in Dabholkar murder case is being investigated and if needed CBI would seek his custody in connection with the casePangarkar has been active in programmes of right wing organisations like the Hindu Jan Jagruti Samiti and others The Sanatan Sanstha in a statement has denied any kind of association with all the five accused persons iquest Pangarkar Kalaskar Raut Gondhalekar and AndureWhile top leaders of the Shiv Sena are keeping silent on the arrest of its former corporator Pangarkar one of its local leader from Jalna Bhaskar Ambikakar told ANI Shrikant Pangarkar was working with me in the organisation for past 2530 years He was a good organisational convenor and communicator I dont think he can be involved in any act of violence But this is all matter of investigation by the policeANI tried to contact party spokespersons but they were reluctant to speak on the issue Partyiquests Minister of State for Home in Maharashtra Deepak Kesarkar could not be reached for comments The Home Department looks after ATS operationsOpposition parties like Congress Nationalist Congress Party NCP and All India MajliseIttehadul Muslimeen AIMIM have been critical of the Shiv Senas silence on the arrest of their excorporatorReacting to the arrest of Pangarkar and others in the terror conspiracy case Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said These people were getting support from the ruling parties since long We are not astonished with the findings of ATSand all this could have been avoided had they accepted our demand to ban these peopleNow after arrest of Shrikant Pangarkar ATS must investigate the larger conspiracy behind it It should be investigated whether Pangarkar was doing it individually or his party was also supporting him in the crime AIMIM MLA from Aurangabad Imtiyaz Jalil told ANICatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever