After the Special Investigations Team (SIT) named the Goa-based right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha in its chargesheet, the former has now denied any ties to the accused in the murder of Bengaluru-based journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh. Addressing the media, Chetan Rajhans, Sanatan Sanstha’s spokesperson, on Tuesday scorned claims by the SIT, which stated that the accused was inspired by the organisation’s book ‘Kshatradharma Sadhana’.
“The book was published by Sanatan Sanstha 15 years ago and is out of print today due to no demand. Blaming the book only shows how low the investigating agencies can stoop to implicate Sanatan Sanstha. SIT has unlawfully arrested innocent devout Hindus. They are denying the accused judicial assistance,” he said at the press conference in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
He further questioned that if the organisation was being held responsible for allegedly inspiring the men with its book, then whom should be held responsible for acts of jihadists and naxals? He also added that earlier the Congress-led Central government had attempted to vilify Hindu activists in the Malegaon blasts, and that the CBI and Karnataka state SIT were attempting to do the same in this instance as well.
On November 24, the SIT issued a press release, in which it stated that the 18 members accused in the murder had been inspired by the Sanatan Sanstha’s publication.
The SIT has named 18 people in its charge sheet as accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder, many of whom are supposedly former members of the Sanatan Sanstha, though the organisation’s spokesperson, Rajhans, has denied this claim. He has also alleged that this was an attempt to target the organisation, which promotes Hindu dharma. "We heard about Gauri Lankesh only after her death; Sanstha does not preach violence. We abide by the Constitution and law. There is nothing provocative in the book and it is freely available for anybody to read. It has become a tendency to blame Hindu organisations," Rajhans reportedly said.