Purulia armsdrop arsenal untraced

These and more are part of a consignment that was airdropped over Purulia8217;s villages, adjoining the global headquarters of the Anand Margis in 1995. Door to door raids by the state police and CBI sleuths in the area have also failed to unearth 30 boosters for rocket launchers, four telescopic sights for rocket launchers and a number of DVM liquid cans fuse and igniter system for grenades.

The CBI and the West Bengal police do not deny that this huge cache is now in dangerous hands. In fact, some of the seizures made from banned outfits and underworld cartels in Bihar in the past couple of years have reinforced such apprehensions.

Hearings, cross-examination of witnesses and other aspects of the trial ended about a fortnight ago. With the judgement expected next week, security has been tightened around Alipore Presidency Jail where British national Peter Bleach, the alleged mastermind behind the sensational operation, and the five Latvian crew members of the Antonov-26 aircraft are staying in cells for the past five years. Apart from asking the Government to mount surveillance around the prison, the CBI has decided to provide armed security cover to the judge of the city sessions court who will be delivering the verdict.

CBI Superintendent Loknath Behera, the principal investigator in the case, is optimistic about securing convictions. Speaking to The Indian Express, Behera said the agency had to carry out investigations in 40 foreign countries to unfold the mystery. It involved transfer of documents through the court in 12 countries. Raids at Peter Bleach8217;s Howdale Farm residence in North Yorkshire, UK, resulted in the seizure of the written agreement between him and Kim Palgrave Davy, who was allegedly acting on behalf of the Anand Margis in the armsdrop operation. He also claimed to have deciphered the same agreement from Davy8217;s laptop computer, left behind in the aircrft.8220;The evidence should be clinching,8221; Behera said.

Of the 14 persons chargesheeted by the CBI, six are in custody while the rest are absconding. They include, Kim Davy, Deepak alias Daya Anand, Avadhut Suranjananand alias Randy alias Satyanarayan Gowda, Avadhut Saileswaranand, Avadhut Jagadiswarananda, controller of the PROUT Universal, Avadhut Tadbhavananda and B Rameshan alias Rameshan Bhanu. Peter Haestrup, a Danish national based in Copenhagen, was named as a 8220;suspect8221;.

The CBI said that the main motive behind the armsdrop was 8220;political8221; 8220;to destabilise some regions within India. To some extent it may also have been financial,8221; the CBI stated in court.

Avadhut Bhaveshananda, public relations secretary of the Anand Marg, however, argues that not a single arrested man should be in jail after it has become evident that it was a botched up attempt by some Government of India agency to smuggle in the arms. The prosecution has failed to solve the mystery behind the escape of Kim Davy from Mumbai airport even after the AN-26 aircraft was intercepted on December 22, five days after the armsdrop, he says.

There are more unanswered questions like why the plane was not checked at Varanasi and why a closed bank was opened at Varanasi to receive payments from the air crew in dollars on the day of the airdrop, he says. 8220;We have deep faith in the judiciary and hope that proper light would be shed on the mystery,8221; said the Avadhut.

State Advocate General Nara Narayan Gooptu, however, feels the judgement next week is not the end of the road. 8220;Either side would be free to take matters to the higher courts and that is the most likely fallout after the judgement is given,8221; he said. Conviction in the case could mean life imprisonment for the accused, he added.