Pune : Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS) chief Dhananjay Desai has a
following of nearly 4,000 youths across Pune district, police sources
say.
"Desai
has managed to attract these youths, most of whom are aged between 19
and 24, through his provocative speeches," an officer from the crime
branch said. "He is accompanied by these youths wherever he goes.
Nowadays, he has started moving around in a convoy of vehicles with his
supporters."
The
officer said the number of Desai's supporters is far bigger than that
of any criminal gang in the city. "Most of his supporters are jobless
and come from a financially weak background," he said.
Desai
has a support base in different parts of the city, including Kothrud,
Warje Malwadi, Hinjewadi, Pimpri, Chinchwad, Yerawada and Hadapsar.
Several of his followers are from district areas such as Loni Kalbhor
and Urali Kanchan.
Police
sources say Desai shifted from Mumbai to the outskirts of Pune a few
years ago. "To tend to his supporters, many of whom are from
economically weaker backgrounds, Desai brokers settlements in disputes
mainly related to land and other properties," a senior police officer
from the Pune crime branch said.
Desai
has 22 cases registered against him in Mumbai and Pune. While three of
the cases are related to dacoity and possession of arms, nearly all the
rest pertain to hate speeches made by him.
The
HRS chief is in the custody of the Loni Kalbhor police till Saturday
for distributing pamphlets carrying objectionable content. "Once he gets
bail, we plan to take preventive action against him. We will also
question him in the Hadapsar murder case," the crime branch officer
said.
Meanwhile,
senior crime branch officials on Friday were busy collecting
information about the HRS and Desai. Officials from various police
stations in the city were summoned to the crime branch to provide
details about the HRS. "We are collecting evidence so that we can at
least begin the proceedings to impose a ban on the HRS," the officer
said.
Former top cops ignored warnings
Pune, June 07, 2014:
The Pune police ignored warnings against radical Hindu outfits taking
root in the city, said former inspector general of police S M Mushrif on
Friday.
Mushrif
told TOI that in letters to two successive city police commissioners,
Meeran Borwankar and Gulabrao Pol, he had cautioned them about
activities of these outfits, which included training camps for their
cadre. He had said these outfits would pose a serious problem if they
were left unchecked.
"Fundamentalist
elements in the city have eventually grown stronger and are powerful
enough to brazenly conduct violent activities," Mushrif said on Friday.
"Some
fundamentalist organizations and their heads, who are masterminds in
various blast cases, are in Pune. I had reported to the city's police
commissioners that training camps are being conducted in the city to
train people to carry out violent activities. This is happening since
2000 and late Hemant Karkare, who was detecting the Malegaon blast case,
had corroborated my claims with facts," he said.
Mushrif
said the state government and the police have turned a blind eye to
terror activities of right wing groups in Pune. In his letters, he had
listed these outfits to the top cops. "They (the state and police) are
showing ignorance (about the existence of these elements) or they are
incapable of handling these elements," he said, adding that the city's
social fabric was being destroyed.
When
contacted, former city police commissioner Gulabrao Pol said he did not
wish to comment on the matter. Meeran Borwankar said, "I don't
recollect any specific element he had pointed at. But whenever there
were communal incidents, we had taken strict action. There are various
sources of intelligence information and we have taken strict action."
Mushrif
said those who claim Pune is peaceful and there is no place for
anti-social activities are actually trying to cover-up right wing
activities.
This
failure to act against them has only emboldened these groups, said
national secretary of Rashtra Seva Dal, Ashwini Satav-Doke. She said,
"These acts of violence were pre-planned. Without planning it is not
possible to conduct attacks on specific spots and community members.
Police have failed to nab Narendra Dabholkar's killers and now Mohsin's
killing shows failure of the state to control anti-social elements."
Writer
scholar Anvar Rajan said, "With recent political developments these
groups in Pune and Maharashtra are feeling empowered and feel that they
will be protected."
S
M alias Raja Dixit who heads Interdisciplinary School (Humanities and
Social Sciences) in University of Pune said, "We are becoming
insensitive to the extent that killing of an innocent youth does not
create any rage. We have amalgamation of feudal and fascist elements in
our society. These elements have blocked process of democratization.
Intolerance in this city and society stands as a major challenge before
us," he said.
