AMBALA (Haryana): Swami Avdheshanand Giri, the spiritual guru of Pragya Singh Thakur - a Hindu ascetic arrested in connection with Sep 29 Malegaon blasts, has said that he is ready to help the Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) with the probe into his links with his disciple.
On the defensive after his name cropped up during investigations due to his links with Pragya, the guru Thursday said he was open to any probe.
Avdeshanand's ashram (sect campus) is located near this Haryana town, about 45 km from capital Chandigarh. Ambala is a big army and air force base of north India.
Talking to reporters, Avdheshanand, who heads the Juna Akhara sect, defended his disciple saying that "not a single charge against Sadhvi Pragya had been proved so far".
"She is being unfairly being labeled as a Hindu terrorist. Let the police prove the charges," he said here.
Pragya is one of the mainaccused in the Malegaon blast case. The low intensity blast on Sep 29 had killed six people and injured 20.
The guru denied that he had any direct relations with Pragya, saying that he had just met her twice, including once when he baptised her at Allahabad during the Hindu religious festival of Kumbh Mela.
"Over 10,000 people had come to seek deeksha (baptism). I have given deeksha to over 100,000 sadhus and sadhvis," Avdheshanand said.