Click to play videoNashik: The Mumbai Anti terrorism Squad (ATS) questioned the commandant of the Bhonsla Military School (BMS) in connection with the Malegaon blasts on Saturday.
Colonel (Retd) SS Raikar is the third armyman to have come under the police scanner.
However, sources in the army maintain that this an aberration and that nothing substantial has emerged from the interrogations so far.
Bhonsala Military School in Nasik is denying any links with the Malegaon blasts.
General Secretary of BMS Diwakar Kulkarni says, “Many students have passed out from BMS, many have been selected in the army. But, till date you'll not find anyone who's become a criminal.”
“As far as the blast issue is concerned. We had given Abhinav Bharat our grounds for the meeting. There is nothing more to it. Our commandant is their friend. So he asked the organisation (BMS) to give them the ground. What happened in the meeting, the organisation doesn't know,” Kulkarni added.
Meanwhile, the army is deeply embarrassed. For the first time in its post independence history, a serving officer Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit is under suspicion for the nature of his links with an extremist Hindu group. Two other retired army personnel, Colonel Raikar of the Bhonsala school and Major Ramesh Upadhyay are also under suspicion for what is described as ‘Hindu terrorism’.
The top brass at the annual senior commander's conference in Delhi were confident that the army's secular ethos had not been stained and felt that what had happened was an aberration.
A senior retired army personal said that to see a retired official being accused of terrorism was a complete aberration.
Army sources said the Mumbai ATS' interaction with Colonel Prasad Purohit had produced nothing substantial so far. The ATS is now reportedly reviewing the answers given by Purohit.
The sources said that the interaction is expected to resume either on Saturday or Sunday.
However, the very fact a serving army personnel is now in the realm of suspicion of terrorist activities, the army will have to do a lot of damage control in the coming few days.
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