Sanatan Saunstha responsible for Goa blast, says minister

PANAJI: Goa Home Minister Ravi Naik said the Sanatan Saunstha organisation was responsible for the low intensity blast in Margao town on Friday night, in which one person was killed and another critically injured.

Speaking to reporters in Margao, Naik confirmed that the vehicle in which the explosives were placed belonged to Nishad Bakhale, an alleged member of the Sanatan Saunstha, a right-wing Hindu group, which is headquartered in the temple town of Ramnathi in the Ponda region of Goa.

Bakhale has been detained for questioning by the police.

Naik said the police were conducting search operations at the group's headquarters after the blast.

The police said Malgondi Patil and Yogesh Naik, who were riding the Honda Eterno scooter when the blast occurred, were members of the group.

Patil succumbed to his injuries few hours after the blast, while Naik is in critical condition and is being operated upon at the Goa Medical College, near Panaji.

The blast took place near the Grace Church in Margao, where some effigies of Narkasur, a mythical demon, were symbolically being burnt to celebrate the victory of good over evil on the eve of Diwali.

Police superintendent Atmaram Deshpande said a red alert had been declared a few minutes after the blast and it would remain until the situation stabilises.