CHANDIGARH: There are many loose ends that still need to be tied up in the Samjhauta blasts case even as National Investigation Agency (NIA) has announced a cash reward on three suspects and Swami Aseemanand made a confessional statement, accepting the involvement of Hindu radical groups.
Aseemanand's statement before the metropolitan magistrate of Tis Hazari court in Delhi on December 18, 2010, points towards Sunil Joshi as the main plotter, but Joshi is dead. Another challenge before the NIA is to trace the persons, who had planted the bombs.
Haryana police, who had initially carried out the investigations, had suspected that Sandeep Dange and Ramji Kalsangre for whose capture rewards were announced were the alleged bombers.
The statement pointed towards the existence of three teams, none of which was aware of the other's constituencies. Joshi had roped in all the team members. The first team was given the responsibility to handle finances, the second to assemble the material, and the third to plant the bomb.
A top official of Haryana police said their probe revealed that the bombs were made by experts. The suitcases were fitted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Aseemanand in his statement stated that Joshi had suggested that the Samjhauta Express should be bombed since only Pakistanis travel aboard it. The chemicals would be arranged by Sandeep. Besides, Joshi said three teams should be formed, for which he took the responsibility of recruiting the members.
"In February 2007, Joshi, Bharat and I met in a Shiva temple at Balpur. Joshi told me that a good news would be reported in the media within two days ... After two-three days, I went to Bharat's house, where Joshi and Pragya were already present. News of the Samjhauta Express blast had appeared in the papers. I told Joshi that it was the work of ISI, but he said that his people had done it. Joshi asked why would Muslims kill Muslims and I replied that it happened everyday in Pakistan. Joshi did not respond."
Earlier, Assemanand's counsel Manvir Rathi had told TOI that he had made the statement under duress.
No comments:
Post a Comment