The angry bomb expert and the logistics man

Profiles--2 of the 3 declared wanted by the NIA for terror attacks.

Ramchandra Kalsangra alias Ramji,aged around 40,is believed to have driven from Indore to Maharashtra on the bike used for the Malegaon blast in 2008. That bike allegedly belonged to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and was later sold to Sunil Joshi,since murdered,named in Swami Aseemanands confession as one of the key plotters in a series of terror attacks.

Investigators in Maharashtra describe Ramji,an electrician by training,as a man with the knowledge and acumen to plant bombs. From the confessions of various terror suspects,Ramji comes across as a handy man,trusted by his seniors as a man who has the anger. The idea of having someone committed to the cause of revenge is what made conspirators choose Ramji. While others were too agitated,Ramji was also keen to learn and unlearn new techniques in bomb making, says an interrogator who has spent time tracking him.

In the last two years,Ramji has changed countless cell phones and been in touch with the right people,investigators say. Ramji has been missing since September 30,2008,the day after the Malegaon blast that killed seven persons. The Maharashtra ATS chased Ramji for over a year,with ATS chief Rakesh Maria stressing in October last year that our teams are still in MP trying to track him down.

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Ramjis name first cropped up during the interrogation of his brother Shivnarayan Kalsangra,36. The ATS informed courts that Ramji had stayed in a lodge in Malegaon the day of the blast,and that other evidence confirmed he had visited the textile town a week earlier.

Sudhakar Chaturvedi,37,one of those arrested for Malegaon 2008,had given a statement about a call from Lt Col Prasad Purohit (Army officer since arrested). Chaturvedi said Purohit instructed him to give the keys of a Deolali flat to Ramji though a help named Pawar. Forensics later traced remnants of explosives used at Malegaon at the flat.

Last June,the CBI named Ramji an absconding accused in the Mecca Masjid blast. He is also a suspect in the Samjhauta Express and Ajmer blasts.

Sandeep Dange alias Parmanand held the position of zilla pracharak of the RSS at Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh and was allegedly a friend and confidante of Sunil Joshi,named in Swami Aseemanands statement as as a key conspirator in a series of terror attacks. Aseemanand claims to have met Dange the day after the second Malegaon attack in 2008,saying he had given a lift in his Santro to Dange and another man,both carrying bags.

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Danges name has emerged as a bomb planter and an assistant to Ramchandra Kalsangra alias Ramji in the Malegaon,Mecca Masjid and Ajmer blasts. The Rajasthan Anti Terrorism Squad,in its extensive probe,has said that Dange was in fact the last custodian of four of the eight mobile sets used for the Ajmer blasts. Dange had allegedly given these four phones to an RSS functionary before he went underground with Ramji in 2008.

Logistics man Dange is said to have been the contact between people who supply explosives and bomb maker Ramji. Ramjis style of bomb making,investigators say,was indigenous and succeeded only because Dange managed to get iron pipes in time to Ramjis home in Shantivihar Colony,Indore. Dange is also alleged to have supplied the chemicals Ramji needed; he is tech-savvy.

If Ramji rode the bike used in Malegaon from Indore,it was Dange who had coordinated its route from Gujarat to Indore,according to investigators.

According to investigators,Danges strength lay in the network of people he mingled with. Known to be very thrifty with resources,Danges weakness according to people who know him is his short temper.

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Danges alleged role is in many ways similar to that Ramchandra Kalsangra is suspected of. He was among those who are said to have met in the C-Scheme Gujarati Samaj Room No 26 a secret meeting that allegedly includfed RSS leader Indresh Kumar and the conspirators. The group,which decided on roles for everyone,entrusted Dange with procuring funds for terror operations.