The motorcycle used in the bomb blast allegedly belonged to her. Details such as the registration and chassis numbers had been removed with chemicals, but with the help of forensics, investigating officials succeeded in retrieving the numbers. It is learnt that two suspects came to Malegaon from Indore and checked into a lodge before the blasts.

The development was discussed by BJP leaders, including L K Advani and Rajnath Singh and some others, at Parliament House on Friday where it was felt that the particular sadhvi — Pragya and two associates — were not connected with the Sangh. But the sadhvi’s previous links with ABVP in the late 90’s were definitely cause for discomfort. The BJP leaders were left with little choice but to take the position that all acts of violence had to be condemned and if the role of the Manch was established, it would have to face the consequences. But there was clearly a sense of unease over the emergence of "Hindu terror" that gave BJP-baiters in Parliament a clear opportunity to have a go at the saffron party.

Sadhvi in jail for Malegaon blast

MUMBAI: In fact, when deputy chief minister R R Patil, who also holds the home portfolio, visited the affected areas of Malegaon, the suspicion of

Hindu groups’ involvement was brought to his notice.

When asked directly if activists of the ABVP or the Indore-based Hindu Jagran Manch were suspect, the IPS official was noncommittal, saying it was too premature to name organisations at this juncture.

In the immediate aftermath of the blasts, several former members of banned outfit SIMI were called in for questioning. Dozens of Bajrang Dal members were also questioned since the residents of Malegaon alleged that the Dal and the RSS too could have been involved.

Meanwhile, following reports that pro-Hindu organisations were involved in the blasts, security has been tightened at Malegaon.

Besides deploying senior officers, five companies of the state reserve police force and a company of rapid action force have been rushed there. ‘‘There is no immediate law and order problem, but we are not taking any chances,’’ he said.

The Maharashtra police believe that they’ve cracked the blast cases in Malegaon and Modasa in end-September where six people were killed. The police

have arrested six people, all of whom belong to an extremist outfit called the Hindu Jagran Manch and have links with Hindu nationalist groups. This is an indication that terror knows no religious boundaries. Just as Islamic terrorists are believed to have been behind the string of blasts that scarred several metros this year, the Malegaon and Modasa incidents show that Hindu radical groups too are turning to terrorism.

This is a worrying trend. Unless these groups are stopped in their tracks, we could face an intensifying period of violence. While the methods employed by Hindu radical outfits are similar to groups like the Indian Mujahideen, there is a vital difference in their functioning. Groups such as the Indian Mujahideen are shadowy in nature and have no identifiable leadership. Indeed, they are opposed to mainstream Muslim political parties. In contrast, those arrested for the Malegaon and Modasa blasts were earlier associated with outfits belonging to the sangh parivar, of which a mainstream party — the BJP — is a member.

The first reaction of the BJP has been to criticise those who have dragged the "name of nationalist organisations in the terror attack". The BJP must carefully reassess its stand. As a mainstream party, it’s the BJP’s responsibility to condemn terrorists, even when they belong to Hindu outfits. It is equally important for the BJP to use its good offices to rein in or at least dissociate itself clearly from radical Hindu organisations. The BJP must not allow groups like the Bajrang Dal — another sangh parivar outfit — to run amok as they have in Orissa and Karna-taka. If such groups are allowed a free run, the BJP’s image as a democratic mainstream party would be damaged heavily.

The political reaction to the Malegaon blast arrests has been disappointing. In Parliament, the CPM has called for a ban on Hindu outfits such as the Bajrang Dal and the Hindu Jagran Manch. The BJP countered by asking for a ban on SIMI. We’ve written earlier that bans don’t work. Banned outfits usually respond by going underground and metamorphosing into even more radical organisations. Our political parties need to wake up to the fact that there are myriad terror outfits — religious as well as political — operating in the country. They all operate outside our constitutional perimeter and, hence, must be jointly resisted.

-Times of India

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MUMBAI: The Indian rupee opened trade on Friday at a record low of 50.15 per dollar, weighed down by heavy losses in Asian stocks which raised worries of more outflows from the local share market.

At 9am (0330 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 50.00/15 per dollar, compared with 49.81/82 at close on Thursday.

India slips in IT ranking

NEW DELHI: India may be a global IT leader, but the fact is, we don't have the right environment to encourage IT production in the country. This has emerged from a Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) study. The Global IT Competitiveness Index ranks India 48th in the world, down two places since last year. The study done in 66 countries, ranks US as the most competitive country followed by Taiwan and UK. Interestingly, India is two places ahead of China but both countries have lost ground since last year. While India ranked 46 in 2007, China was 49.