Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Just days ahead of the Foreign Secretary-level talks between Indian and Pakistan, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is set to file a charge sheet against Swami Aseemanand and others into the 2007 Samjhauta Express train blast in which 43 Pak nationals were among the 68 killed. The agency had taken over the probe into the case in 2010 and arrested Aseemanand in December last year. The NIA had taken over the investigation on the case in 2010, and in December last year had arrested Aseemand.
The Samjhauta Express (the peace Express) is a train that travels two days a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) between Delhi and Lahore in Pakistan. The train made its first trip July 22, 1976 following the Shimla agreement and travelled about 42 km from Amritsar to Lahore. On 19 February 2007, the train suffered an attack which caused 68 dead and 13 wounded.
The indictment, which will be formally presented in the coming hours, will probably contain the names of Aseemamand, Sandeep Dange, Ramji Kalsangra, Sunil Joshi (deceased) and Ashwini Chouhan. Aseemand is in judicial custody in Ambala jail. Joshi was killed in December 2007, and the three others are in hiding.
The NIA has also recorded the statements of Bharat Rateshwar, one of Aseemand’s accomplices, and identified him as one of the "key witnesses" in the case. Other people interviewed include shopkeepers of the Kothari market, Indore, where the material used in the attack was purchased. On February 19, 2007, a day after the blasts, investigators eized two live bombs which included two suitcases (Kodak) with covers (Apollo 600 handwritten on them), digital timer, 6-Volt battery, yellow colour explosive mixture, an electronic circuit contained in plastic box and 13 plastic bottles with fuel.
The forensic examination of the seized material confirmed use of cyclonite (RDX), PETN, TNT, potassium chlorate. The first breakthrough in the case came from some of the accused arrested for the Malegaon blasts of 2008. Besides banking on the confession of Aseemanand, the NIA has tried to establish the “conspiracy” where two meetings between the accused took place to select the Samjhauta Express as a target.
Hindu radicals behind India -Pakistan Express peace train attack
On 19 February 2007, the Samjhauta Express was devastated by an explosion which caused 68 deaths. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has formalized the charge against Aseemand Swami and four others who masterminded the massacre.
