Two persons, Ramesh Hanumant Gadkari, 50, and Mangesh Dinakar Nikam, 34, were arrested on June 16 from Panvel on Mumbai’s suburbs for allegedly planting bombs at Cinema Hall and Theatres, prompting Maharastra Chief Minister Bilasrao Deshmukh to say sarcastically, “This has shattered the ‘Myth’ that terrorists come from a particular community only.” The duo are accused of targeting shows of film “Jodha Akbar” and a Marathi Play “Amhi Pachpute.” They are also charged with two blasts-that injured several people- and an attempted bombing and have been remanded to police custody up to 24th June.
A low intensity blast took place in a Panvel cinema hall screening ‘Jodha Akbar” on 20th Feb’08 and police diffused another bomb at a theatre in Navi Mumbai on 31st May’08. Yet another explosion took place this month in the parking lot of a theatre in Thane where seven people were injured. “These were definitely ‘terrorist acts’ as these were carried out by people motivated by an ideology,” said Hemant Karkare, Chief of the anti-terrorist squad that nabbed them.
Police said that the duo are members of, ‘Sanatan Sanstha’ and ‘Hindu Jana Jagruti Samiti’, the organizations in the forefront in protesting the ‘denigration’ of Hindu religious icons as is the case with certain M.F.Husain paintings. As per police sources, Gadkari and Nikam said ‘Amhi Pachpute’ had caricatured and distorted Hindu Gods and ‘Jodha Akbar’ has angered them by glorifying the Mughal Emperor Akbar whom they branded as Hindu oppressor.