Maha Engineering student gave tech know-how for Goa blasts

PANAJI: The National Investigation Agency chargesheet in Margao serial blasts has indicated that a 20-year-old engineering student was the technical mind behind the incident in the coastal state on Diwali eve last year.

Dhananjay Ashtekar from Konkan belt of Maharashtra provided technical know-how and collected devices for preparing Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), which were successfully tested twice in two different states before October 16, 2009 when the blasts took place.

During the probe, the state police and NIA had zeroed in on Ashtekar and had found different electronic items required for assembling IEDs from his rented room.

Ashtekar is a student of DKTE Engineering College at Ichalkaranji and had downloaded the circuit diagram and later gave it for printing at a shop in Kolhapur.

The chargesheet, filed on May 17, mentions that Ashtekar, during July to September 2009, had contacted the owner of the shop, Rajesh Sonar, for preparation of printed circuit boards as per the diagram provided to him.

Sonar, had told NIA that he had prepared 18 printed circuit boards on the basis of four circuit diagrams provided by Ashtekar, one of the youngest accused in the case.

The investigations also revealed that Ashtekar had written 'On' and 'Off' directions on five IEDs in his own handwriting at the time of preparing IEDs.