Indian engineered justice for Samjhauta Express

By Senator Rehman Malik
March 24, 2019

Sitara-e-Shujaat, Nishan-e-Imtiaz

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The attack on Samjhauta Express took place and jolted whole South Asia where many Muslims were killed. The Indian media flashed this as the act of Pakistan and a full-scale propaganda was carried out against Pakistan whereas Pakistan repeatedly denied of its involvement in any such act.

India-Pakistan Samjhauta Express attack on 18th Feb 2007 killed 68 Pakistanis. Haryana police registered a case against the attackers, but the probe was handed over to the National Investigation Agency in July 2010 after three years of the incident. Later, during investigations by Anti-Terrorism Squad team, a Hindu extremist leader Swami Aseemanand, a leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who has strong ties with Modi’s BJP, confessed of having been a part of the incident. He also confessed in the court that several RSS preachers and Sang activists were directly involved in planning, funding and executing Samjhauta Express, Ajmer, Malegaon and Makkah Masjid blasts. He even said that Gen JJ Singh is “with us” (former Singh was Army Chief till Sept. 2007) and this fact stood proved when Lt. Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit of Indian Army was also found evidently involved in 2008 blast in the Muslim-majority Malegaon town in Nasik district of Maharashtra besides his further link to the Samjhauta Express terrorist attackers.

After Malegaon and Samjhauta Express attack, the police in India arrested Muslims alone despite the fact that Muslims were victims. Hemant Karkare, as the chief of the state Anti-Terror Squad, led the investigation into Samjhauta Express and Malegaon blasts. He arrested eleven suspects, all Hindus, including a former ABVP student leader Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Amritananda alias Dayanand Pandey, Swami Aseemanad (RSS member), a retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay and a serving army officer Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit. Most of the accused belonged to Sangh Parivar organisation. He identified them as being responsible for terrorism in India.

Karkare had documented the evidence very professionally and he was sure to get these accused convicted for their involvement in the terrorist attack on Samjhauta Express killing 68 Muslims. This investigation made Indian Army, RAW & RSS furious against DIG Karkare, as he had very honestly exposed these accused fully & their deep involvement in this blast.

He started to get the threats from RAW and RSS and he continued facing serious life threat from the highest ranking members of BJP and RSS, Even the then chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi, and BJP prime ministerial candidate, LK Advani accused Karkare of being a traitor and proposed death penalty for him by calling him “Daish Dhrohi”. These statements were like orders for the elimination of DIG Karkare. Unfortunately this brave hunter of criminals/RSS by then had become a target of RSS/RAW. This great hunter of terrorists was finally hunted by RAW and RSS when he was shot three times in his chest during Mumbai attacks on 27th November 2008 killed him at the spot. The murder investigation was not allowed further and the case was dropped on frivolous grounds though everybody was aware of his killers. RSS & RAW won and honest and brave Karkare lost his life to the bosses of terrorism.

The crucial evidence in Karkare's death - the source of bullet fired into his body was absent. The bullets were removed from his body but declared that no bullets were shown to have found and hence no match found resulting in dropping of the investigation. The poor wife of this brave officer is still voicing for justice for her husband and her children.

Lt Colonel Srikant Purohit, who was arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for questioning in the case although confessed his role in the attack yet this terrorist is free but Karkare is dead.

According to reports, Purohit told the ATS officials that he prepared the blue print of the conspiracy and provided ammunitions for the September 29 'revenge' attack in Malegaon and Samjhauta Express. The 37-year-old officer had confessed to providing the logistics and explosives to a radical Hindu outfit ‘Abhinav Bharat’, who carried out the blast.

During investigation, Col Purohit had also confessed to training Hindu terrorists from RSS for attacking Muslims, besides training them for attacking Samjhauta Express besides providing them RDX. He further confessed that it was intended to cause armed conflict between Pakistan and India so that anti-Muslim passions could be nurtured in India leading to violence. It had close simile of facts with Pulwama and exactly the same situation was engineered after Pulwama.

The ATS claimed that Purohit supplied RDX to one of Abhinav Bharat member for Samjhauta Express blast. Public prosecutor Ajay Misar said Abhinav Bharat treasurer Ajay Rahirkar had handed Rs2.5 lakh to Lt Col PS Purohit. After 12 years of victim Muslim families in Pakistan awaiting justice.

After the death of Karkare, the Indian Government through Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA)'s manipulated the investigation and the trial through faulty investigation and suppression of the evidence in the trial court. The Indian government, after 12 years long wait by the victim families in Pakistan for justice, managed a favourable decision by Judge Jagdeep Singh wherein he released all the criminals with an intention to safe RSS and to benefit BJP in coming election. This decision in fact has supported the Modi War Doctrine, as one of the components of his doctrine is to suppress the other political parties.

It looks that the decision has been taken under the direction of PM Modi as these departments are under his control. In fact he also appointed his favourite judge to seek the judgment in favour of the accused persons.

It is no more a secret that Samjhauta Express attack was pre-planned and executed by Indian agencies as per the investigation and the judicial statements of the accused persons.

The decision will further strengthen Hindu fundamentalism in Indian society and the world will now witness Hindu Taliban in coming years. RSS is BJP’s militant group, which exposes Indian dual face. Indian democracy and secularism is badly exposed by international media.

In view of above India owes to answer the following question:

1. Why names of many accused were dropped from the investigation whereas solid evidences were available against them. 2. Why the role of Col. Purohit is not interrogated properly and as to why the judge did not examine him resultantly he has not been convicted? 3. Why the decision of the Samjhauta Express is coming in such a time frame when next Lok Sabha general election are very near and BJP is not sure about its success in upcoming polls? 4. Why the case of the Samjhauta Express was shifted to the NIA whereas, the earlier investigating authorities observed sizeable advancement? 5. DIG Karkare got killed in Mumbai terror attack that was extremely criticised by the BJP leadership. Why was he criticised?

6. Why his killing was not investigated under the clauses of the state law of murder? 7. Sadhu Swami Aseemanand made confession in judicial custody in the presence of a magistrate. Why his confession was not made part of the court proceedings and then acquitted despite his judicial confessions? 8.

Why the evidences of Rahila Wakeel were not given the weightage whereas the judgment was reserved in order to obtain the claimed evidences by the said Muslim leady? 9. Why/how could Sadhu Swami Aseemanand gets walk over in all the cases whereas his name appears in brutal acts against Muslims in Makkah Masjid blast, Ajmer Dargha blast and every time he is declared innocent? It needs to be investigated as to why is he nominated in all such violence related cases. 10. The involvement of RSS trained terrorists, backed by BJP leadership, in Samjhauta Express attack was proven with sufficient evidence and it indicated that Samjhauta Express attack was a state sponsored act of terrorism. Why those who blackened the name of India have not been treated as the criminals under the state law?

The writer is Chairman of Think Tank "Global Eye" & former interior minister of Pakistan. Email: rmalik1212gmail.com, Twitter Senrehmanmalik, GlobalEye_GSA

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