Breaking Story: Malegaon plot was MI anti-terror ops

Lt Col Purohit said that his fundraising and arranging logistics for Malegaon blast were all part of covert Military Intelligence ops to fight terror.

As long as some Madrases, continue churning out terrorists or teaching hate philosphy against other religions, except Islam or teach how to kill "Kafirs" (non believers: which includes myself), these kinds of retributive terrorism might continue to flourish and would continue to get sympathy/support from certain sections of people.......
MUMBAI: Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, alleged to be the main conspirator in the Malegaon bomb blast case, is said to have told witnesses, including some in the Defence forces, that his fundraising, arranging logistics for the attack and drafting a constitution for the extremist outfit “Abhinav Bharat” were all part of a covert Military Intelligence (MI) operation to fight terrorism.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chargesheet in the case filed yesterday alleges that Purohit gave an impression to witnesses that he was “conducting some covert MI operation and penetrating into some Right-wing organisation”. Purohit, who was arrested on November 5, for his alleged involvement in the bombings, served in MI from 2005 to early 2008 and was posted in Nashik and Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh.
In one instance, the chargesheet alleges that an unnamed witness, who is a serving officer from the Army Education Corps in Pachmarhi, has told the ATS that he was introduced to Purohit at an official dinner at the officers mess of AEC Training College in December 2007 by a senior colleague. The witness told Purohit that he wanted to set up an old-age home and school after retirement and Purohit offered to help him through his contacts and invited him to Delhi.
The witness allegedly took up the invitation and went to Delhi from where he was taken to Faridabad where the first meeting of Abhinav Bharat was underway. “Lt. Col. was talking about overground forum and also underground forum must be created. Later on, when I asked Lt. Col. Purohit about that he told that it was part of some covert MI operations and I need not know more than that,” the chargesheet quotes the unnamed AEC officer as saying. The ATS alleges that this was the meeting where Purohit took responsibility of providing explosives for the blast.
Purohit, the chargesheet alleges, called the AEC officer to a meeting in Kolkata in February 2008 saying he wanted to discuss the school project. There, the officer was introduced to Swami Asimanand from Gujarat, Abhinav Bharat founder Himani Savarkar [Himani is the daughter-in-law of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's brother. Savarkar had set up Abhinav Bharat in 1904 for an armed struggle against the British government. After the independence, the organisation was dissolved in 1952. Himani Savarkar started working with the Abhinav Bharat in 2006] and a man named Tapan Ghosh. The witness, according to the chargesheet, recalled that Ghosh and Purohit discussed the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh.
They also allegedly discussed training youth and when Ghosh asked about arms training, Purohit said that he would consider it and organise it after asking his superiors. When the witness claimed that he confronted Purohit when he returned to Panchmarhi, Purohit allegedly explained that it was a “covert operation under the direction of superiors to fight terrorism”.

'Pak militant groups mulling friendly Kashmir'

After Mumbai attack, Pak based militant groups in Kashmir may be changing strategy.

Islamabad: Pakistan-based militant groups, including Lashker-e-Toiba, are pondering a "new, friendly policy on Kashmir" in the wake of mounting pressure on them following the Mumbai attacks, a media report claimed on Thursday.
Senior leaders of LeT and the United Jehad Council, a conglomerate of terrorist groups active in Jammu and Kashmir, are reassessing their policy in the aftermath of the November 26 Terror strikes, the News daily said.
The top militant leaders are "pondering a new, friendly policy on Kashmir" because of mounting global pressure on Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks and subsequent action against jehadi groups in the country, a 'knowledgeable' source was quoted as saying in the report.
The newspaper said it was unable to reach UJC chairman Syed Salahuddin for his comments. Salahuddin's spokesman Ehsan Elahi said the groups wanted the Kashmir issue to be "settled amicably" in the emerging situation.
"It is our desire that this problem is resolved through dialogue... Neither is militancy an easy affair nor are we happy with it," Elahi said.
"We want peace but it does not mean that we are renouncing our stance or showing a weakness. If there is such an impression in any quarter, it is completely wrong." Elahi complained that the current Pakistani government, unlike past administrations, was "not supporting them".
Since the Pakistan People's Party-led Government is not backing the groups diplomatically and morally, they had "obvious grumbles" but understood the "prevailing volatile situation", he said.