Aseemanand, three others acquitted in 2007 Samjhauta blast case

The verdict came after NIA special judge Singh dismissed the plea filed by a Pakistani woman for examining eyewitnesses from her country, saying it was devoid of any merit.
Swami Aseemanand coming out of jail. (Photo | EPS)
Swami Aseemanand coming out of jail. (Photo | EPS)

PANCHKULA: A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here today acquitted all the accused including the 67-year-old former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member Swami Aseemanand in the 12-year-old Samjhauta Express train blast case in which 68 passengers including 43 Pakistani nationals were killed.

The main accused in the case Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary were present in the court when the verdict was announced and they were acquitted. Before pronouncing the verdict, NIA special judge Jagdeep Singh dismissed the plea filed by a Pakistani national Rahila Wakeel for recording her statement.

"All the four accused, Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary have been acquitted by the court. The court ruled that the plea of the Pakistani national Rahila Wakeel was devoid of any merit,"  said NIA counsel Rajan Malhotra.

Mukesh Garg, counsel for Aseemanand  said that court has acquitted all the accused as the NIA was not able to prove the allegations. "The court has said that NIA has not been able to establish any charges against the accused and hence all accused are acquitted," he said.

Arguments in the case had concluded on March 6 and the NIA court had said the verdict would be pronounced on March 11. Then it was deferred to March 14 and again the court had deferred the hearing in the case to March 18 due to a lawyers’ strike in Panchkula.

Momin Malik lawyer of the Pakistani woman Rahila Wakeel said he would consult his client and if she asks to file an application in the Punjab and Haryana High court, he would move the high court. Rahila a Pakistan national and daughter of one of the victims of the blast had on March 11, filed a petition through Malik, to get her statement recorded as a witness in the case.

The NIA filed a charge sheet in July 2011 against eight persons for their alleged roles in the terror attack. 

The charge-sheet stated that this terrorist act was committed by using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) along with the highly inflammable substances, which caused blasts and consequent fire in the compartments of the train no 4001 UP Attari (Samjhauta) Express at Panipat, Haryana. Two unexploded suitcase bombs were found in other compartments of the train.

It further stated that all the accused were agitated and perturbed over the attacks on Hindu temple sites and towns by the Islamic terrorist groups. The blast was targeted at Pakistani Muslims. 

In order to retaliate to such attacks, the accused persons conspired to target the Muslim population. While the accused Rajendra Chaudhary conspired, planned, executed the attack along with other suspects. They planted bombs in the Samjhauta Express train along with other co-accused persons on February 18, 2007.

During the investigations it was also stablished that the blasts which took place in Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid, Ajmer Sharif were carried out by the accused persons in pursuance to a criminal conspiracy.

Of the eight accused  named by the NIA in it’s charge-sheet Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary faced trial.  

Aseemanand was out on bail, while three others were in judicial custody. Also the three other accused Ramchandra Kalsangra, Sandeep Dange and Amit could not be arrested and were declared proclaimed offenders. 

Sunil Joshi, the alleged mastermind of the attack, was shot dead near his house in Dewas of Madhya Pradesh in December 2007.

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