M A I N   N E W S

2 Samjhauta blast accused now proclaimed offenders
Sanjay Bumbroo/TNS

Panchkula, July 1
A special National Investigating Agency (NIA) court today declared 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case absconding accused Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalasangra as proclaimed offenders.

Swami Aseemanand

Main accused Swami Aseemanand was also produced for the first time after filing of the chargesheet on June 20 in the court of NIA special judge Subhash Mehla here. Another accused, Lokesh Sharma was also produced in the court. The next date of hearing is fixed for July 18.

The NIA had filed a chargesheet against Aseemanand and four others on June 20. While Lokesh Sharma has been arrested, Dange and Kalasangra are absconding. Fourth accused, Sunil Joshi, a former RSS Pracharak, is dead.

The NIA chargesheet had questioned Aseemanand’s role in blasts in two coaches of the Samjhauta Express at Diwana village near Panipat on February 18, 2007 in which 68 persons were killed. The peace train between India and Pakistan was going from Delhi to Attari, the last station on the Indian side. The passengers were to board the train to Lahore the following day.

According to the chargesheet, Aseemanand masterminded the attack and had instigated others. Only 38 bodies could be identified and most of these were Pakistani nationals.

Aseemanand had earlier told the court that he had no role in the blasts and had accused the NIA of torturing him mentally and physically to extract the statement from him.

The CBI had arrested Aseemanand from Haridwar last November for his alleged role in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad in which 14 people were killed.