ISLAMABAD: Despite the lapse of 15 years, the Indian government continues to deny justice to the families of the victims of the Samjhauta Express terrorist attack, despite the availability of clear pieces of evidence.
On February 18, 2007, an IED blast was carried out in the Samjhauta train – which ran between New Delhi and Lahore – at Panipat in Haryana. The incident had claimed 68 lives including 43 Pakistan citizens, 10 Indian citizens, and 15 unidentified people. 12 people including 10 Pakistanis and two Indians were also injured in the attack.
Earlier, a Muslim group was blamed for the incident, but later on, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) arrested Kamal Chauhan of Hindu extremist organization Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) in New Delhi. Chauhan was an explosives specialist and he had planted the bomb in that train.
In the Samjhauta Express tragedy, 68 persons onboard Delhi-Lahore train were burnt alive including 40 Pakistani nationals.
The investigations had revealed that the said Hindu activist and several other persons had been involved in blasts at Ajmer Dargah, Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid, and Malegaon. The Hindu chauvinists also confessed their involvement in these acts of terror.
The Head of Maharashtra Police Inspector General Hemant Karkare and several political commentators had called it “Hindutva Terror” or the “Saffron Terror”. Later, Hemant Karkare was targeted and killed during the Mumbai 2008 operation.
It was also reported that Swami Aseemanand, an RSS leader was found guilty before a judicial magistrate for involvement in the Samjhauta Express attack, at mosques in Malegaon in Maharashtra state and Andhra Pradesh’s state capital, Hyderabad besides a Muslim shrine in Ajmer in Rajasthan.
Indian Army Col. Prohit himself had confessed to have trained Hindu terrorists to initiate an armed conflict between Pakistan and India.
The opposition leader in the Indian parliament Rahul Gandhi truly confirmed that the growth of Hindu extremists presents a greater threat to India than the Muslims.
Coffins containing dead bodies of Samjhauta express train explosion victims are lined up. (Indian Express photo)
Pakistan had urged India to share findings of the investigation which was conducted for Samjhauta train blasts after it was disclosed that Hindu extremist outfits were behind the terrorist activities in February 2007.
It is evident that the historic anti-Pakistan posture of India in general and Hindutva approach of BJP government in particular that India had used 26/11 as a propaganda tool against Pakistan.
“Despite the availability of clear evidence, India’s continuing failure to provide justice to the victims of this horrible incident is a reconfirmation of the culture of impunity that the perpetrators of terrorist attacks enjoy in India,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.
Swami Aseemanand seen outside NIA Court, in Panchkula on March 18. (Hindustan Times Photo)
Speaking to The Wire, Vikash Narain Rai, a former Haryana police officer who headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) from 2007 to early 2010, said the police recovered an unexploded bomb from the train. It was found that all the parts of that ‘incendiary device’ were purchased by people linked to the RSS and its associate groups.
A special court on March 20, 2019 acquitted Swami Aseemanand and three others in the case. NIA special judge Jagdeep Singh also dismissed the plea of a Pakistani woman for examining eyewitnesses from her country.
Pakistan believes that the systemic Indian decision to gradually exonerate and finally acquit the perpetrators is not just a reflection of India’s callousness towards the families of the deceased Pakistanis, but also reflective of the Indian state policy of promoting and protecting Hindu terrorists.
In fact, India had been using similar incidents to lay a basis for the false flag operation against Pakistan which had also been proved in many other instances to deceive public about the culprits and perpetrators.
The incidents of airplane hijacking of 1971, Indian Airline Flight 814 Kabul Hijacking in 1999, Chittisinghpura Massacre of 2000, Indian Parliament Attack in 2001, IIOJK Legislative Assembly Car Bombing in 2001, Mecca Mosque Bombing, Malegaon Mosque Blast in 2006, Ahmedabad Bombing in 2008, Sri Lankan Cricket Team attack in Lahore in 2009, Pathankot Air Base Attack in 2016 and URI Attack in IIOJK in 2016 were the examples of the Indian false flag operations to malign Pakistan in which their own authorities denied Pakistan’s involvement.
