We are soft targets in 'saffron terror' conspiracy : Sanatan Sanstha

Panaji, Oct 7 : The RSS has been the Home Ministry's main target but Left-aligned forces are targeting the Sanatan Sanstha because we are "soft targets", a spokesperson for the Goa-based Hindu rightwing organisation said on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters, Chetan Rajhans, the spokesperson for the Sanstha based in south Goa's Ramnathi village, said no official of the Karnataka Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Gauri Lankesh murder had questioned any Sanatan member nor visited its ashram here.

"Sanatan Sanstha's name is often raked up after the death of rationalists. It is because we are a soft target.

"After 2013, the Home Ministry has been working on a saffron-terror conspiracy. They had to target some Hindu organiztion. Their big targets were the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

"But because they could not target them, we are being targeted instead. I believe that Left-aligned forces are continuing to follow the same trajectory," Rajhans said.

Dismissing media reports which claimed that the Karnataka SIT had zeroed down on "missing" Sanatan Sanstha members as the suspects in the Lankesh murder, Rajhans said: "Some anti-Hindu forces are behind this and there is a planned conspiracy to defame Hindu organisations."

He added that leaks to the media was "false propaganda" and no agency of the Karnataka government had officially issued a statement naming the "missing" Sanatan Sanstha members as suspects.

Earlier this week, some media reports quoting sources said that Sarang Akolkar alias Sarang Kulkarni, Jay Prakash alias Anna and Praveen Linkar were on the SIT's radar in the connection with the journalist's murder.

Rajhans also said that the Sanstha condemned Lankesh's murder and said that several angles had cropped up during the investigation, including theories involving Naxalites.

"We have only one demand. Don't put political pressure. Let the investigation agencies probe. If the agencies want co-operation from us, we are fully ready," Rajhans added.