Memory
of the Samjhota Express Tragedy by Sajjad Shaukat
On the midnight of 18-19 February 2007, India-Pakistan
Samjhota Express train was bombed in which 68 Pakistani nationals were killed.
A Hindu extremist leader Swami Aseemanand, a leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS)
has confessed that he was involved
in several bombings incidents. He also claimed to have been a part of the
incident.
In
fact, ideology of
Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) prevails in every
field at the cost of other minority groups. It is even supported by Indian
defense forces secretly. This could be judged from the incident, when on April
6, 2008 in the house of Bajrang Dal fundamentalists in Nanded, a bomb went off.
The investigation proved that these militants were found in the bomb-making and
attack on a mosque in Parbhani in 2003. Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the
Maharashtra arrested a serving Lt. Col. Srikant Purohit along with other army
officials, indicating that they were helping in training the Hindu terrorists,
providing them with the military-grade explosive RDX, used in the Malegaon
bombings and terrorist attacks in other Indian cities. ATS further disclosed
that Lt. Col. Purohit confessed that in 2007, he was involved in bombing of
Samjhota express, which burnt alive 68 Pakistanis.
India’s
National Investigation Agency (NIA) was convinced that Sadhu Swami Aseemanand,
a Hindu right-wing leader was directly involved in the Samjhota Express blast.
Sources in NIA further pointed out that besides Lt. Col. Purohit, other Indian
army officials were also behind that train-bombing. In this regard, a court in
Panchkula, Haryana has recorded Aseemanand’s statement which confirmed the NIA
inquiry.
Aseemanand’s statement in the Samjhota
Express blast case was recorded under
Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before a magistrate. His earlier
admission was recorded in the Mecca Masjid case, which was being probed by the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Sadhu Aseemanand stuck to his confession
that Hindutva radicals were behind the bomb attack on the Samjhota Express.
Aseemanand, Aka Naba and Kumar Sarkar, named absconding Hindutva
militants—Ramji Kaisangra and Sandeep Dange as the key plotters in that terror
attack.
Sources of the NIA also disclosed that the confession in
connection with the Samjhota Express blast practically rules out the
involvement of other groups.
In the Samjhota Express case, the probe team has found that
the bomb used in the train was kept in a suitcase that was bought from a shop
of Indore’s Kothari Market. The suitcase had cloth covers stitched by an Indian
local tailor. The NIA was now trying to get details of those who bought the
suitcase and covers.
It is notable that Dr. J C Batra, who is a senior advocate
at the Supreme Court of India, was asked to give opinion on Aseemanand’s
confession. He appeared very defensive and as usual started accusing Pakistan’s its primary
intelligence agency ISI—its so-called history for such
activities, alleging that even this could be an ISI plot. He further said that
Swami’s statement does not have much legal value as circumstantial evidence is
also needed, while adding that RSS is being wrongly implicated and there could
be others involved who are not being exposed. In this respect, a Pakistani
parliamentarian, Mr. Mian Abdul Sattar, parliamentary secretary for planning
and development, who was accompanying him, later stated that that he was told
by Mr JC Batra that the Indian Army was involved in this case and there “are
efforts to shield it from getting exposed”.
Swami
Aseemanand also confessed in the court that several RSS preachers and Sang
activists were directly involved in planning, financing and executing Malegaon,
Samjhauta Express, Ajmer and Mecca Masjid blasts. He stated that various
leaders of Hindu communal organizations including Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu
Parishad, Abhinav Bharat, Jai Vande Matram and Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram were also
behind these blasts.
It
is mentionable that in various tapes, LT. Col Purohit said, “We are all on the
same plane, Hindu Rashtra (Nation)”. He even claimed that Gen. J J Singh is
“with us”. (Former Singh was Army Chief till Sept. 2007). Significantly,
Purohit mentioned that “one of our own captain had visited Israel”, and
demanded “continuous supply of arms, training, an office with a saffron flag in
Tel Aviv, political asylum and support for our cause of a Hindu Nation in the
UN.” The Israelis, he added, gave “a very positive response.”
In this
connection, exposing the nexus between Bhartia Janta Party (BJP) and the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the
then Indian Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde disclosed on January 20, 2013
that organized training camps run by the fundamentalist parties, RSS and BJP
were promoting Hindu Terrorism. He also explained that these extremist parties
were behind the Samjhauta Express, Meccca Masjid and Malegaon blasts. He added,
“We will have to think about it (Saffron terrorism) seriously…Hindu extremist
parties BJP and RSS were involved many times in Hindu Muslim violence in India,
especially Gujarat and Babri masjid incident.”
The then India’s
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid endorsed Shinde’s statement, saying
that it was based on facts. Meanwhile, Indian Home Secretary R K Singh revealed
that during investigation the government had found ten names of the Hindu
extremists, associated with RSS, who were involved in these terror attacks
including Ajmer Sharif.
Similarly on
July 19, 2013, the Indian ex-investigating officer Satish Verma disclosed that
terror-attacks in Mumbai in November 26, 2008 and assault on Indian Parliament
in January 12, 2001 were carried out by the Indian government to strengthen
anti-terrorism laws.
While, India has
always accused Pakistan’s ISI of these acts of terrorism, but it is quite
silent over Hindutva-terror which has obtained a new face, under the
fundamentalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Indian RAW, country’s
high officials and fundamentalist parties have co-relationship.
Nevertheless,
despite the confessions of Swami Aseemanand,
instead of taking action against the culprits of the Samjhota Express
explosion, the Supreme Court of India accepted the bail of Swami Aseemanand after the covert interference of the
Modi-led authorities who changed the investigations in this respect in order to
weaken the case.
