Samjhauta blast accused will leave prison after 7 years
A Hyderabad court on Thursday granted bail to Swami Aseemanand in the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case. The copy of the bail granted will be handed over to the National Intelligence Agency today after which it may decide to challenge it. Aseemanand was granted bail in the Samjhauta blast case in August 2014. He has to submit two sureties of Rs. 50,000 each.
On 18 February 2007, terror attacks were carried out on the bi-weekly train service-Samjhauta Express that connects Delhi and Lahore. Reportedly, bombs were set off in two coaches shortly after the train crossed Diwana; around 68 people were killed while several others were injured. Following the attacks, Indian police said that it was the work of four or five individuals with terrorist links.
2008: Terror attacks were linked to an Indian Army Officer–Shrikant Purohit; it was alleged that he was a member of Abhinav Bharat. 2010: National Investigation Agency claimed that RSS leader–Aseemanand was the brain behind the attacks. 2012: Five suspects were attested–Kamal Chouhan, Dhan Singh, Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, and Chaudhary. 2016: NIA stated that there was no evidence of Purohit's involvement in the terror attack.
India would ask Pakistan to send 13 witnesses to provide testimony before a National Investigation Agency's special court. The special NIA court is conducting the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast's trial; the 2007 blast claimed 68 lives, RSS leader-Swami Aseemanand is a key accused. Following an NIA request, a Haryana court would send summons to 13 key witnesses from Pakistan in the train blast case.
Some of the Pakistani witnesses include those who were injured in the blasts and the relatives of those who were killed. In Mar'16, Pakistan had summoned 24 witnesses to depose before Islamabad's anti-terrorism court for the Mumbai 26/11 blasts trial.
RSS leader Swami Aseemanand has been granted bail in the Samjhauta blasts case; but, he still remains in judicial custody because of his alleged involvement in other blasts. Reportedly, the NIA didn't challenge Aseemanand's bail petition. Earlier, Pakistan had blamed India for not doing its best against those accused in the case and had even raised the issue at diplomatic levels.
