Shivram Apte, son of Shyam Hari Apte, has strongly refuted allegations that his father had given self-styled religious guru and Malegaon blast accused Dayanand Pandey Rs 10 lakh to kill Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh General Secretary Mohan Bhagwat and RSS communications director Indraeesh, as reported by a national daily on Friday.

"This is our wrong 15 minutes of fame," said an agitated Apte, who owns a software consultancy firm in Pune.

Apte told rediff.com that his father suffers from a very serious medical condition -- an enlarged septum cavity that obstructs the blood flow to the brain -- and he is semi bed-ridden.

Shyam Hari Apte had left Pune 50 years ago to join IBM in Mumbai and later shifted to the US, informed Shivram. Currently, the Aptes stay in a spacious two-storey bungalow in a posh colony near Karve Road in Pune.

However, Shivram admitted that his father had been a member of the RSS in his youth.

"He did attend RSS shakhas in his youth," he said, but added, "it is atrocious and absolutely irresponsible of the media to publish such malicious reports."

The Anti-Terrorism Squad had called up his father today morning, informed Shivram and added, "My father has assured the ATS of his full cooperation.

"If they have a lead, it is the ATS' job to follow the lead," he said. The media, however, should cross-check facts before publishing their reports, feels Shivram.

"Do you think people staying in such a locality can give suparis," he asked this correspondent. Finally, Shivram dismissed the entire matter by saying, "It is clearly a case of mistaken identity."

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