Ajmer blast accused claims Shinde, Digvijay forced him to implicate RSS chief

In a development which is likely to trigger a political storm in the country, the 2007 Ajmer blast accused, Bhavesh Patel, has accused senior UPA ministers and Congress leaders of pressuring him to name Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and his close aide Indresh Kumar in connection with the incident.

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: In a development which is likely to trigger a political storm in the country, 2007 Ajmer blast accused Bhavesh Patel has reportedly accused senior UPA ministers and Congress leaders of pressuring him to name Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and his close aide Indresh Kumar in connection with the incident. Reports on Wednesday said that Bhavesh Patel made this claim in a letter written to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court. In his letter, Patel also blamed several other UPA ministers, including Minister of State for Home RPN Singh, Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal and Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, for trying to frame Bhagwat. Patel is said to have made this claim in response to repeated queries made by the NIA court to clarify if he was being pressurised. Interestingly, Patel had earlier claimed that there was no political pressure on him. The NIA court has categorically rubbished the allegations made by Patel. Congress party has also hit back, saying there is no question of anyone putting pressure on Patel into naming Indresh Kumar and the RSS chief as the two are not named in the FIR filed by the CBI in the 2007 Ajmer blast case. However, Patel`s stunning accusations have evoked sharp reactions from the RSS. Claiming that Patel`s letter is strong evidence, RSS leader Ram Madhav said, "We have been saying from the beginning that there is a conspiracy against Hindu organisations, specifically against the RSS and its leaders. We are calling for an unbiased probe." Bhavesh Patel is one of those accused in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah bomb blast case. On Tuesday, the NIA court in Ajmer framed murder charges against seven persons, including key accused Aseemanand, in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast case. Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Chandrashekher Leve, Bharat Mohan Rateshwar, Jarshad Bhjai and Mukesh Wasani have also been charged under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC. They have also been booked under the Explosives Act for causing an explosion at the Dargah to create terror and under the Unlawful Activities Act for causing communal disharmony and waging war against the State. The two FIRs were initially registered at Ajmer in 2007 and subsequently the investigation was transferred to NIA in 2011. The court framed charges based on the NIA charge sheet. Three persons were killed and 20 injured in the blasts in October 2007.