Terrorist wanted India to be 'Hindu nation'

Terror links became public only in October 2008 with the arrest of Lt Col Prasad S Purohit and other supporters of the ideology.

NEW DELHI (Religious Intelligence) - The prime has accused that an extreme Hindu nationalist, in a case involving bomb blasts in the western sate of Maharashtra in September last year, wanted India to be a Hindu nation with the help of Israel.

That is what an investigation agency told the media.

Lt Col Prasad S Purohit, a serving officer of the Indian Army who was arrested in October for allegedly masterminding a bomb explosions in Muslim-majority areas in Malegaon in Maharashtra state and Modasa town in Gujarat state on September 29 - in which six people were killed and over 80 were injured.

He was expecting that Israel would help India to be a Hindu nation as he thought the Constitution of India was incapable of dealing with Islamist terrorism, the chief of Mumbai's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), KP Raghuvanshi, said.

Although some extreme Hindu nationalist groups have allegedly been involved in terror attacks in India since 2006, their terror links became public only in October 2008 with the arrest of Purohit and other supporters of the ideology.

Investigation agencies are also probing if extreme Hindu nationalists were behind explosions on the Samjhauta Express train (which connects India and Pakistan) near Panipat in Haryana on February 18, 2007, and another incident in Nanded town of Maharashtra on April 6, 2006 when explosion took place in the house a known Hindu nationalist when his son and associates were allegedly making a bomb.

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This article first appeared in the Religious Intelligencer and is used with permission.