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The five accused, arrested last week from Patiala on charges of executing a series of bomb blasts at various Muslim installations in Jind and Mewat districts of Haryana, were allegedly “instigated and motivated” by a man named Swami Dayanand, who runs a gaushala (cow pound) in Nuh tehsil of Mewat district. While Dayanand’s role is under scanner, the role of two more gaushala heads has also come to the fore.
The accused were known as members of a “cow saviour” group — Azad Sangathan — in Uchana region of Jind district. Police sources said that Sagar — head of Azad Sangathan — and his team were even paid a few thousand rupees each to execute bombings at various Muslim installations in 2009 and 2010.
On Tuesday, the five accused were produced in the court of Basruddin Chief Judicial Magistrate at Jind district courts, from where three accused — Sham Niwas, Praveen Sharma and Gurnam Singh — were remanded to judicial custody. Sagar alias Azad alias Kala and his accomplice Rajesh Kumar were remanded to Safidon police custody in connection with the 2009 blast in Safidon.
“The accused, during interrogation, have revealed that six more persons — Kismat, Surender, Ajay, Pawan, Sonu and an unidentified man — had helped them in executing serial blasts in various places in Haryana in 2009 and 2010. Most of these persons, who are currently absconding, belong to Jind district and are members of Sagar’s group. We are conducting raids to nab them. The role of gaushalas and their heads are also under scanner,” said Inspector Rohtash Singh, the investigating officer of the case told The Indian Express.
The other two gaushala heads under scanner included Swami Gorakshanand, with his base on the outskirts of Uchana village. According to police, Sagar and his accomplices used to assemble at this gaushala and plan strategies. The third gaushala in question was managed by Swami Ganeshanand in Uchana. While villagers claim that Ganeshanand had recently died, police sources claimed that Sagar and his group used to frequent this gaushala and hold meetings.
When contacted, Swami Gorakshanand denied any knowledge of Azad Sangathan’s activities.\ “I am not aware of any such activities having been executed by Sagar or his friends. I am based here for the last over 40-50 years and we run various ashrams in Haridwar and Kurukshetra and gaushalas in Jind district,” said Gorakshanand. Meanwhile, a visit to the residences of the accused in Uchana and neighbouring villages reveal a stark similarity. Construction activities were going on at the residences Sagar, Gurnam Singh and Sham Niwas. While their families claimed that they were poor and have no means of survival as the police have arrested their bread earners, they failed to explain the source of money, which was being pumped in for construction purposes.
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