Amid reports of links between the wife of a Goa minister and Sanatan Sanstha,the state government is contemplating a ban on the Hindu right-wing group suspected of having had a role in the Margao Diwali-eve blast. The group,however,denied any role in the explosion that left one dead and one critically wounded. Reacting to reports that Jyoti Dhavalikar,wife of state Transport Minister Ramkrishna Dhavalikar,was an office-bearer of the Sanstha,Home Minister Ravi Naik said the police would question her. DIG Ravindra Yadav,on her possible questioning,said,Police investigation will be on merit and as per the law. It does not matter if a person is rich or poor,powerful or not. If there is evidence,we will take action. According to state Advocate General Subodh Kantak,the law department is examining whether the Sanstha could be banned centrally,or a state-specific ban could be imposed. We are examining whether the outfit can be banned. There is no formal decision on the issue, he said. Naik said the ban could be imposed if the probe confirmed the outfits role in the blast. As the Sansthas role in the blast came under the police scanner,its spokesman Abhay Vartak said an attempt was being made to implicate the organisation. Home Minister Naik is trying to frame our organisation because it had taken a firm stand on the state governments failure in preventing desecration of temples and idols in the state, Vartak told reporters at Panvel near Mumbai. About Sansthas alleged foreign links,Naik said the issue was being probed as its Goa office was frequented by foreigners who were also present during the raid after the blast. Reacting to Naiks statement,Vartak said no foreigners were living in the Goa ashram. Some American tourists had visited the ashram last week. Sanatan Sanstha is being projected as a militant group and comparisons are being drawn with LeT and Naxalites, Vartak said,denying its association with Pragya Singh Thakur,one of the main accused in the Malegaon blast on September 29 last year which killed six persons. While admitting Malgonda Patil,who was killed in the blast at Margao on October 16 night,was a Sanstha member and owned the scooter in which the explosive was planted,Vartak said the police were yet to reach a conclusion whether the deceased had himself kept the explosive there. DIG Yadav said the SIT,constituted to probe the blast,has questioned a number of top Sanstha functionaries,including its chief Jayant Athavale. The SIT questioned Athavale and also managing trustee of the Sanstha Virendra Marathe and group editor of Sanatan newspaper Prithviraj Hazare,besides others, Yadav told reporters in Panaji.
