Mumbai: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Thursday raided Vaibhav Raut’s residence in the early wee hours and seized country-made bombs and raw material like gunpowder to make two dozen bombs after tracking him for the last few days.
Vaibhav Raut is related to Sanatan Sansthan- the right-wing terror outfit in Nalasopara and directly involved in massive number of bombings like Nabi Mumbai’s Vashi, Thane, Panvel (all in 2007) and Goa (in 2009) and in also in the murders of rationalists- Naren (in 2013), Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi (both in 20 dra Dabholkar 15) and senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, Catchnews reported.
Those who have no idea about what this Sanatan Sanstha is, here it is. This group is said to be the right-wing Hindu extremists terror outfit in India was founded in 1999 by ‘hypnotherapist’ Jayant Balaji Athavale with the support of Bhaktaraj Maharaj.
Mumbai: Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) conducted a raid at the residence of a person named Vaibhav Raut in Nala Sopara area yesterday and recovered some suspicious material from the house and a nearby shop. Vaibhav Raut detained. More details awaited. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/UwaI8WOTgb
— ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2018
However, the group states it aims at presenting spirituality in a scientific language for the curious (Jigyasu) and guiding seekers.
After Raut was arrested, his lawyer said, “Anti-Terrorism Squad has not intimidated us about arrest of Vaibhav Raut. Wonder what kind of law is being followed in this country & in Maharashtra. We’ll take all legal steps”.
A forensic team and a dog were also called in during the raids. The explosives seized from Raut’s house has been handed over to the Mumbai Forensic Science Laboratory for further investigation.
“We want to know the source of these explosives and how Raut intended to use them and therefore his custodial interrogation is necessary,” said an official involved with the arrests.
Sanatan Sanstha advocate Sanjeev Punelikar further said: “Raut had been extended by the Palghar police in connection with a beef ban case. While he is a Hindutva worker, he isn’t our member. However, I doubt the ATS claim of he hoarding explosives.”