the 2009 Goa blast. The prosecution stated in court that Sameer Gaikwad was in different city (Thane) around the time of the murder of Govind Pansare. Minister of Home Affairs Ranjit Patil claimed that the arrest of Sameer Gaikwad was based only on suspicion, and that the only proof is a cellphone conversation about killing Pansare. Eventually, it was revealed that the evidence against Gaikwad is strong, as he was present at the scene of the crime, and he had discussed the murder with other Sanatan Sanstha members. Sanatan Sanstha was also planning to create a 15,000-strong armed force. Narendra Dabholkar murder Indian investigative agencies believe that the Sanatan Sanstha is implicated in the murder of Narendra Dabholkar. In June 2016, a member of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS), an offshoot of Sanatan Sanstha, was arrested in connection with the murder. An official of the CBI revealed that emails exchanged between him and his underground colleague, from 2008 to 2013, discuss procurement of weapons and establishment of a weapon-manufacturing unit. The bail applications of the accused were rejected in 2020. However, the judgement by lower court was reversed by the Bombay High Court on March 23, 2021 and the accused was granted bail on May 6, 2021. In September 2021 the court ordered the framing of charges against five members of Sanatan Sansta, including terrorism charges under the UAPA. Gauri Lankesh murder Sanatan Sanstha members were suspected of involvement in the murder of Gauri Lankesh in 2017. Forensic analysis has shown that the same pistol was used to kill Kalburgi, and is also possibly the same gun that was used to kill Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. Sanstha was implicated in all these murders. However, a representative for Sanatan Sanstha denied involvement in the murder. The article also says that the Karnataka police are investigating if the Gauri Lankesh murder has any connection to three previous murders attributed to the Sanstha. Hypnosis Public interest litigations were filed in the Bombay High Court seeking a ban on the organisation, stating that it uses Ericksonian hypnosis to lure people into joining it and to carry out acts of violence. Such claims are rejected by Hamid Dabholkar, son of slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, saying that hypnotism could not provoke a person to cause violence and instead pointing at radicalization as the means of influence. Explosives haul In August 2018, Maharashtra Anti Terror Squad (ATS)