Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakurtwitter

BJP's Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency candidate Pragya Singh Thakur, who is also an accused in the 2008 Malegaon Blast case, has been linked to suspects who were training members of right-wing outfits in bomb-making, a report submitted by the Special Investigation Team to a Bengaluru court revealed. The SIT made the charges after arresting three members of Sanatan Sanstha in connection to the Gauri Lankesh murder case. 

The arrested men had identified several bomb-making trainers who were called "Babajis" and "Gurujis" in various camps held across India from 2011 to 2016. One of the Babajis arrested by Gujarat Police in 2018 was identified as Suresh Nair, a member of Abhinav Bharat. His arrest further led to the identification of a few more bomb-making experts.

Nair further revealed that Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, who have been declared as "proclaimed offenders", were trained IED experts. They carry a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh each on their heads, the report revealed.

Dange has been described as an RSS worker who has an Interpol red corner notice against him and figures on the most wanted list of NIA.

The investigation found that a total of 19 training camps were held in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka between 2011 and 2017 by Sanatan Sanstha for the usage of firearms, improvised explosive devices and subterfuge tactics.

The suspects arrested in the Gauri Lankesh murder case told the Karnataka Police that these "guest trainers" roamed around in the training camps as monks and were training to make petrol bombs, electrical circuit bombs and mobile phone triggered IEDs.

Through these training camps, many recruitments were made to carry out bombings as well as for murders of rationalists, liberals, journalists and left-leaning politicians, the SIT report said.

2008 Malegaon Blasts
Local residents and policemen clear debris at a blast site in Malegaon, about 260km from Mumbai, September 30, 2008Reuters