ATS picks up guru Dayanand Pandey
ATS arrests Dayanand Pandey for Malegaon blast's involvement.
By ET Bureau |
LUCKNOW / JAMMU: The anti-terror squad of Maharashtra on Wednesday picked up religious guru Dayanand Pandey from Kanpur for his alleged involvement in the September Malegaon blast.
Pandey who heads the Sharda Samaghraha Peeth in Jammu Tawi had taking shelter at an acquaintance���s residence in Rawatpur area of Kanpur and was being brought to Lucknow for further interrogation.
Dayanand Pandey also known as Amritanand was residing in Jammu, since 2003, and is believed to have had several meetings with Lt Col S Purohit who was arrested earlier as the main suspect in the Malegaon blasts.
Pandey���s involvement with the blasts is said to have been revealed during interrogation of various persons arrested in connection with the Malegaon blasts.
Additional DG, law and order, Brij Lal said that the Maharashtra ATS team arrived in Lucknow on Tuesday night and submitted the permission obtained from a Nashik court to interrogate Pandey. On Wednesday, in a joint operation with the UP police, the Maharashtra ATS picked up Pandey who was taking shelter in Kanpur for the last 3-4 days.
After Maharashtra ATS refused to name the suspect, ET had reported that the person ATS wanted to interrogate was Gorakhpur BJP MP Yogi Adityanath and his supporter MLA Radha Mohan Das Agarwal. However this was based on unverified reports which turned out to be false.
Though little is known about the self styled religious leader Dayanand Pandey, he is said to be originally a native of a village in Varanasi, which he left long time back.
The Maharashtra ATS on Thursday may seek a transit remand from the court for further questioning of Pandey and taking him to Mumbai. Brij Lal said that the Maharashtra ATS had till Wednesday evening sought permission to interrogate or arrest only one person from UP. Though Brij Lal refused to comment about the initial interrogation of Dayanand Pandey, he is said to be keeping mum.
Later in the day, two close aides of Pandey were detained for questioning in Jammu by Jammu and Kashmir Police. Police searched the house and offices of Pandey's chartered accountant V K Kapoor and his son Pawan and seized records in posh Trikuta Nagar area of the city, the police sources said, adding a Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad team is likely to arrive on Thursday to conduct joint interrogation of the duo.
"We are still waiting for a communication from Maharashtra ATS," Inspector General of Police K Rajendra, Jammu, said.
Kapoor was looking after the financial aspects of the trust which was running in Jammu for the past few years and Pandey was a regular visitor to his house, the sources said.
Pandey who heads the Sharda Samaghraha Peeth in Jammu Tawi had taking shelter at an acquaintance���s residence in Rawatpur area of Kanpur and was being brought to Lucknow for further interrogation.
Dayanand Pandey also known as Amritanand was residing in Jammu, since 2003, and is believed to have had several meetings with Lt Col S Purohit who was arrested earlier as the main suspect in the Malegaon blasts.
Pandey���s involvement with the blasts is said to have been revealed during interrogation of various persons arrested in connection with the Malegaon blasts.
Additional DG, law and order, Brij Lal said that the Maharashtra ATS team arrived in Lucknow on Tuesday night and submitted the permission obtained from a Nashik court to interrogate Pandey. On Wednesday, in a joint operation with the UP police, the Maharashtra ATS picked up Pandey who was taking shelter in Kanpur for the last 3-4 days.
After Maharashtra ATS refused to name the suspect, ET had reported that the person ATS wanted to interrogate was Gorakhpur BJP MP Yogi Adityanath and his supporter MLA Radha Mohan Das Agarwal. However this was based on unverified reports which turned out to be false.
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Though little is known about the self styled religious leader Dayanand Pandey, he is said to be originally a native of a village in Varanasi, which he left long time back.
The Maharashtra ATS on Thursday may seek a transit remand from the court for further questioning of Pandey and taking him to Mumbai. Brij Lal said that the Maharashtra ATS had till Wednesday evening sought permission to interrogate or arrest only one person from UP. Though Brij Lal refused to comment about the initial interrogation of Dayanand Pandey, he is said to be keeping mum.
Later in the day, two close aides of Pandey were detained for questioning in Jammu by Jammu and Kashmir Police. Police searched the house and offices of Pandey's chartered accountant V K Kapoor and his son Pawan and seized records in posh Trikuta Nagar area of the city, the police sources said, adding a Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad team is likely to arrive on Thursday to conduct joint interrogation of the duo.
"We are still waiting for a communication from Maharashtra ATS," Inspector General of Police K Rajendra, Jammu, said.
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The police, acting on the tip off by Maharashtra ATS after Pandey was arrested, detained the Kapoors for questioning them in connection with their links to Pandey, who is a also the sole trustee of Vedic Vishwa Kalayan Religious Trust, the sources said. Kapoor was looking after the financial aspects of the trust which was running in Jammu for the past few years and Pandey was a regular visitor to his house, the sources said.
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Pandey was arrested from Kanpur and was taken to Lucknow for interrogation under various charges including of murder and attempt to murder connected with the Malegaon blast case.Download
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