Day after sabotage, cops protect Pune scholars

Rattled by yesterday’s dastardly attack on the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) and stung by their own failure to prevent ...

Rattled by yesterday’s dastardly attack on the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) and stung by their own failure to prevent it, Pune police today decided to provide protection to 10 scholars and three city-based academic institutions.

Among the intellectuals to have come under police protection are: Dr Shrikant Bahulkar, Gajanan Mehendale, Dr Saroja Bhate, V.L. Manjul, Bhaskar Chandavarkar, Meena Chandavarkar, Dr Sucheta Paranjape, Dr Y.V. Damle, Prof Rekha Damle, Prof Madhav Bhandare and Prof Dilip Chitre.

The inspector-in-charge of Deccan Gymkhana police station, Ranjit Abhinkar, presented in court the 72 arrested members of Sambhaji Brigade, a youth wing of Maratha Seva Sangh. Judicial magistrate P.K. Kulkarni ordered them to be sent to police custody till January 14.

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During his submission, Abhinkar told the court that initial investigations revealed the attack was pre-planned and well-funded by these men who came from Satara, Solapur, Osmanabad and Beed districts. Also, only a few of them were hardcore members of the Sambhaji Brigade.

Masterminds behind the operation had apparently visited BORI to see the institute’s inner design and had taken note of the daily routine there. Early on Monday, these men assembled at Chauphula, on the Pune-Ahmednagar road, from where they were brought to the city by jeeps.

‘‘The attackers stormed the institute in a systematic manner immediately after its gates opened for the day. That shows they were well aware that only a few staffers would be present during the morning hours and resistance would be minimal,’’ Abhinkar said.

Pleading for a 15-day police custody for the arrested, assistant public prosecutor Balasaheb Khopade said the police were yet to zero in on the mastermind of the attack and their funding source.

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