MUMBAI: The state intelligence wing has submitted a classified report to the home department indicating the involvement of a fundamentalist Hindu organisation in the mysterious bomb blast in Nanded. On April 6, a blast in the house of a retired executive engineer of the irrigation department claimed two lives and left three seriously injured.
The matter, initially investigated by the local police, was later handed over to the Anti-terrorist Squad (ATS). An intelligence officer dealing with the Nanded blast revealed that it is for the first time that a fundamentalist Hindu group is known to be involved in such an activity. He added that during investigation the police have recovered maps of neighbouring districts like Aurangabad.
The home department has recommended that the case be transferred to the ATS on the basis of the report submitted by the state intelligence. Joint commissioner (ATS) K P Raghuvanshi said, "A team of ATS is looking into the matter and we have arrested one Rahul Pande in connection with the blast."
In the blast, Naresh Rajkondwar and Himanshu Panse — believed to be involved in the preparation of the bomb — died on the spot, while their cronies Yogesh Deshpande, Maruti Wagh and Gururaj Tupttewar were seriously injured. A search of the house yielded a live pipe bomb under a sofa along with bomb-making material. Raghuvanshi said, "During interrogation, Rahul claimed he had arrived a few minutes before the blast and that he knew nothing about the bomb or any conspiracy. We are about to crack the case and there will some development related to the Nanded blast case in fortnight."
Meanwhile, ATS officials are waiting for the three blast injured to recover.
