Motorcycles Used By Nalasopara Explosives Case Accused Dismantled to Destroy Proof, ATS Tells Court

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) told a special court on Monday that motorcycles used by the members of a right-wing extremist group have been dismantled to destroy evidence.

The court was hearing the remand plea of Vasudev Suryavanshi and Vijay Lodhi who were arrested from Jalna in connection with the case.

According to the ATS, Suryavanshi, an automobile mechanic, dismantled several motorcycles using an electric cutter. However, the officials were unable to trace the exact location where the job was done.

A team of ATS officers along with Suryavanshi visited Belgaum, Hubli and Dharwad in Karnataka and Solapur in Maharashtra to find the spot where the motorcycles were dismantled.

"We travelled for almost 2,500 kilometres in Karnataka and Maharashtra. The accused misguided us and did not take us to the location where the motorcycles were destroyed,” an ATS officer said.

Officials suspect that the accused misguided the investigation and the actual dismantling was carried out in Maharashtra’s Beed.

During the investigation in the case, it was also found that most of the motorcycles used by the accused were stolen from Karnataka and used with duplicate number plates.

Call data record of the accused revealed that they were regularly in touch with one another and several other arrested in the case. The ATS told the court that it was awaiting the FSL report of explosives recovered from the possession of the accused.

Meanwhile, the squad also sought extension of the police custody of Bharat Kurne and Sujit Kumar, both arrested by the SIT in Karnataka that is probing the Gauri Lankesh murder case. Kurne and Kumar were transferred to Maharashtra ATS to investigate their involvement in the Nalasopara explosives case.

Meanwhile, Kumar told the court that he was stripped, tied to the ceiling and beaten with belts and sticks by ATS officials. The court directed a medical examination but the report did not reveal any torture.

The court remanded all the four accused to police custody till September 25. A total of nine men have been arrested in the explosives case so far. The agency suspects that the arrested operated a module and hatched plans to carry out terror activities.