Ajmer blast: RSS leader refuses to be questioned

RSS leader Indresh Kumar, named in the CBI charge sheet regarding the Ajmer shrine blast, refused to be questioned by the anti-terrorist squad of Rajasthan Police.

Kumar, who would be questioned by the Rajasthan Police ATS, accused state home minister Shanti Dhariwal of putting pressure on the ATS and chief minister Ashok Gehlot to go for RSS leaders.

He said since the case had reached the court, the ATS could not question him. “Let the case be heard in the court now. I will face the court.”

Three people were killed and 15 injured in the Ajmer shrine blast on October 11, 2007.

A national executive member of the RSS, Kumar has been accused by the ATS of attending a secret meeting here in October 2007 to draw up plans for the blasts in Ajmer, Hyderabad and Malegaon.

After the chargesheet was filed, Gehlot commended the work done by the ATS and had denied the charge that the case was politically motivated.

But Kumar said he had learnt from his sources in the Congress that Dhariwal had political differences with Gehlot. “Dhariwal wants to discredit Gehlot and is putting pressure on Gehlot to make such statements.”

‘Keep an eye on RSS’

The Congress on Wednesday called for “close watch and monitoring” of the RSS activities and left it to the government to take a decision on banningthe organisation.

“The government has to decide what sort of action is to be taken or not taken,” party spokesman Manish Tewari said. On Rahul Gandhi’s remarks that RSS was no different from SIMI, Tewari said Gandhi had made the statement in a certain context. “One type of fundamentalism works as a canon fodder to another kind,” he said.

(With inputs from New Delhi)