Right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha, which has been named in the chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the Gauri Lankesh case, has denied any involvement in the murder of the journalist and activist.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the organisation’s spokesperson Chetan Rajhans ridiculed the SIT’s claim that the accused had been inspired by the book ‘Kshatradharma Sadhana’.
He argued that if a group of men inspired by the text made the organisation responsible, then who should be held accountable for jihad and naxalism? “The chargesheet filed by the SIT shows that efforts are being made to dig out the old issue of Hindu terrorism, and the conspiracy to start Malegaon-2 edition after Malegaon-1 has proved to be a total failure,” said Mr. Rajhans.
The SIT has named 18 people in the chargesheet, many of whom are allegedly former members of the Sanatan. However, Mr. Rajhans denied having any ties with them.
National spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti Ramesh Shinde and vice president of Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad Amrutesh N.P. were also present at the conference.