‘Code language’ of accused cracked, helped know their plans, says ATS

Investigating agency says they have decoded the language used by alleged members of Sanatan Sanstha

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) claims to have “decoded the code language” used by alleged members of Sanatan Sanstha arrested from various locations in the state earlier this month. This, the ATS said, has helped them “decipher their future plans”.

Vaibhav Raut was one of the accused produced in court on Tuesday. (HT FILE)

The ATS on Tuesday produced the four arrested accused, Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar, Sudhnava Gondalekar and Shrikant Pangarkar, in the special court for Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and got their custody till September 3. The agency sought extension of their custody for seven more days for further investigation.

While seeking custody, Sunil Gonsalves, public prosecutor who represented ATS, told the court that the team of investigating officers “have been running pillar to post to unearth the conspiracy the accused were hatching”.

“In the process, we have decoded the language that revealed the names of places and people who were on the hit list of the accused. They had conducted recce too,” Gonsalves said.

The agency claimed the accused hatched the conspiracy at Kodoli village in Satara.

“The accused have obtained training and had certain people as their targets. We want to know who has trained them and who the mastermind is,” said Gonsalves.

“Further, we need to see if there are other accused involved. We know that Pangarkar was financing them, but we need to check if there are others who monetarily helped the accused.”

The prosecutor informed the court that the accused had obtained weapons from other states – Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. The agency also claimed that the accused had obtained training in using arms at various centres. Nine of the training centres, two in Maharashtra (Jalna and Pune) and the rest in other states, have been identified, claimed the ATS.

In the process of unearthing the conspiracy hatched by the accused, the ATS also claimed to have solved two cases registered for hurling bombs on theatres during protests that had erupted before the release of Bollywood film Padmaavat.