Vikram Bhave

Islamophobic Remarks :

Hindu extremist Vikram Bhave belongs to the Sanatan Sanstha, which is situated in Goa. Despite Sanatan Sanstha’s assertions that it is committed to teaching “people about the science of spiritualism,” some of its members have been implicated in terrorist plans.

Bhave is a member of the Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad and the author of the book “Invisible Hand Behind the Malegaon Bomb Blast.”

Bhave was arrested in 2019 in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar on August 20, 2013, in Pune, Maharashtra. The CBI alleged that he helped the two shooters survey the scene and plan an escape route. On 10 May 2024 a Pune special court acquitted Bhave and two other accused for lack of evidence; two men were convicted of the shooting. Separately, Bhave was convicted in 2011 over the 2008 bomb blasts at theatres in Thane and Vashi, and was later released on bail pending appeal.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also detained Mumbai-based Sanatan Sanstha attorney Sanjeev Punalekar at the time of their detention.

Six individuals with ties to Sanatan Sanstha were detained in 2008 after they planted bombs in auditoriums in Thane, Vashi, and a Panvel movie theater. Bhave was one of the defendants as well. Bhave and Ramesh Gadkari were found guilty of the Thane bombings on August 30, 2011, and were given ten years of hard labor in prison.