This story is from December 2, 2013

NEW DELHI: Months after home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde created a political furore by saying RSS and BJP were "promoting Hindu terrorism", National Investigation Agency ( NIA ) has arrested a youth wing leader from the saffron party in connection with the murder of former RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi . This is the first arrest of a BJP leader in connection with Hindutva terror cases.

Late on Saturday night, NIA arrested Jitendra Sharma, vice-president of Indore rural unit of BJP’s youth wing Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha from Mhow for facilitating Joshi’s killing. TOI had first reported on the probable arrest of Jitendra Sharma in February.

Mastermind of several blasts, including those in Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid and Malegaon targeting minorities, Joshi was killed by his own associates in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh in December 2007. Hindutva terror accused Lokesh Sharma and Rajendra Chaudhary, arrested by NIA in connection with Samjhauta Express and Malegaon blasts, allegedly killed Joshi due to a dispute over a liquor shop that they owned along with him and the alleged misbehavior of the RSS pracharak with Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts.

According to sources, Jitendra not only gave shelter to various Hindutva terror accused on several occasions but even arranged for the weapon used in Joshi’s murder and then hid it at the residence of one Dilip Jagtap. After his arrest, Lokesh had led NIA to Jagtap’s house from where the pistol was recovered from a pile of bricks. Jagtap, now in jail and related to a local Congress corporator, was the custodian of all arms and ammunition used by the group.

Interestingly, Jitendra is Lokesh’s cousin and has also represented him as a lawyer in court in the cases against him.

"Jitendra has been the frontman for all the activities that the Hindutva group carried out. He provided logistics, shelter and then legal help to all the accused," said an officer privy to investigation details.

Though Jitendra was interrogated earlier too, he was not arrested as the agency was low on evidence. Sources said over the past few months, some of the accused have given statements against him under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (admissible as evidence) while certain others have expressed their desire to become approvers in the case.

