Proposal to ban Sanatan Sanstha pending before central govt: Maharashtra CM Fadnavis

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that the proposal to ban the supposed Hindu right-wing group Sanatan Sanstha is pending before the central government.

"The proposal to ban Sanatan Sanstha was sent by the earlier state government and it is pending before the central government," Fadnavis said in the Maharashtra Assembly while replying to a resolution moved by the Opposition on the final day of the winter session.

This comes days after Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the murder case of journalist Gauri Lankesh found out an organised crime syndicate formed in the year 2010-11 which used to target persons which went against their beliefs and ideology.

The investigation team also revealed that the 18 accused in the case are active members of an Organised Crime Syndicate.

According to the SIT report, the members of this Syndicate strictly followed the guidelines and principles mentioned in "Kshatra Dharma Sadhana", a book published by Sanatan Sanstha.

Asserting that accused Amit Degvekar, Vikas Patil and Rushikesh Deodikar were important members of the syndicate, the SIT reports also elaborated on the modus operandi of the syndicate.

However, Sanatan Sanstha has denied any involvement in Gauri Lankesh murder case.